THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

DAVIS 


Under  Four  Administrations 


COPYRIGHT,  IQ22,  BY  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


SECOND  IMPRESSION,  OCTOBER,  IQ22 

THIRD  IMPRESSION,  NOVEMBER,  IQ22 

FOURTH  IMPRESSION,  APRIL,  IO23 


$re0« 

CAMBRIDGE  •  MASSACHUSETTS 
PRINTED  IN  THE  U-S-A 


DEDICATED  TO 

MY  GRANDCHILDREN 

AND  THEIR  CONTEMPORARIES 

OF  EVERY  RACE  AND  CREED 


PREFACE 

I  AM  drawing  these  memories  to  a  close  in  my  log  cabin 
in  the  primitive  Maine  woods,  where  my  wife  and  I 
have  been  coming  for  rest  and  for  fishing  for  the  past 
twenty  years.  Here  we  renew  our  youth,  and  far  from 
tumult  and  crowds,  near  to  nature,  we  realize  anew  how 
little  is  required  in  order  to  be  contented  and  happy. 
Here  I  am  taken  back  to  the  memories  of  my  childhood 
in  the  little  town  in  Georgia  where  too  our  home  was  a 
log  house,  but  for  appearances  had  the  luxurious  outer 
and  inner  dressing  of  clap-boarding  painted  white.  The 
logs  of  the  upper  story  where  we  children  played  and  slept 
had  no  covering,  which  pleased  us  all  the  more. 

In  a  highly  organized  society,  we  are  often  attracted 
by  pomp  and  circumstance,  rather  than  by  qualities  of 
heart  and  mind,  which  after  all  are  the  true  measure  of 
enlightenment.  Here  in  these  woods,  fair  dealings  and 
human  relations  are  not  regulated  by  statutes,  but  by  the 
golden  rule  of  conduct.  We  need  not  hide  our  possessions 
behind  locked  doors,  honesty  is  the  accepted  rule  of  life; 
there  are  no  treasures  to  hide  and  no  bars  to  break. 

It  has  been  permitted  me  to  do  useful  work  and  to 
have  interesting  experiences.  Privileged  opportunities 
have  been  afforded  me  for  public  service.  Of  these  I 
write. 

Perhaps  in  chronicling  the  experiences  of  a  life  which 
at  many  points  touched  vital  affairs  and  the  most  inter 
esting  personalities,  I  may  be  able  to  add  something  to 
the  record  of  men,  movements,  and  events  during  those 
decades  still  absorbing  to  us  because  they  are  so  near. 


viii  PREFACE 

The  story  is  one  of  service  at  home  and  abroad,  of 
personal  relations  with  six  of  our  Presidents,  with  diplo 
mats,  labor  leaders,  foreign  rulers,  leaders  of  industry, 
and  some  plain  unticketed  citizens  who  were  the  salt  of 
the  earth  and  certainly  not  the  least  of  those  whom  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  know. 

To  write  of  one's  self  requires  a  certain  amount  of 
egotism.  The  autobiographer  usually  tries  to  justify  this 
vanity  by  explaining  it  as  a  desire  to  gratify  his  children 
and  kinsmen,  or  as  a  yielding  to  the  urgent  request  of  his 
friends.  Benjamin  Franklin,  whose  autobiography,  in 
complete  though  it  be,  is  one  of  the  most  human  in  our 
language,  frankly  conceded  that  he  was  prompted  by  the 
weakness  of  praise.  He  says:  "I  may  as  well  confess  it, 
since  my  denial  of  it  will  be  believed  by  nobody,  perhaps 
I  shall  a  good  deal  gratify  my  own  vanity." 

I  do  not  wish  to  conceal  from  those  who  may  from 
interest  or  curiosity  read  what  I  write,  that  I  am  not 
entirely  free  from  that  vanity,  even  though  it  be  my  chief 
aim  and  purpose  to  cast  some  additional  light  upon  our 
country's  development  and  upon  events  in  which,  in 
public  and  private  life,  I  have  been  permitted  to  take 
part.  Having  held  official  positions  at  home  and  abroad 
under  four  administrations,  and  having  come  in  close 
relationship  with  many  of  the  statesmen  and  others  of 
distinction  in  this  and  foreign  countries,  perhaps  my 
narrative  will  serve  to  give  more  intimate  knowledge  and 
truer  appreciation  of  their  personal  traits  and  their  ex 
ceptional  qualities. 

I  have  also  been  influenced  by  a  desire  to  bring  a 
message  of  encouragement  to  the  youth  of  our  country, 
especially  to  those  who  may  be  conscious  of  handicaps 
in  the  race,  not  to  lose  heart,  but  to  be  patient,  consid 
erate,  and  tactful,  and  not  to  withhold  the  saving  extra 


PREFACE  ix 

ounce  of  effort  which  often  spells  the  difference  between 
failure  and  success. 

So  long  as  our  democracy  remains  true  to  its  basic 
principles  and  jealously  guards  the  highways  of  oppor 
tunity,  the  golden  age  will  not  be  in  the  past,  but  ever  in 
the  future.  In  externals  the  age  in  which  we  live  has 
changed,  but  the  qualities  of  effort,  of  industry,  and  the 
will  to  succeed  which  were  required  when  I  was  a  boy, 
have  not  changed;  they  lead  to  the  same  goals  now  as 
then,  with  this  difference:  that  the  boy  of  to-day  has 
greater  advantages,  better  educational  facilities,  and 
more  avenues  of  advancement  than  the  boy  of  two 
generations  ago.  There  never  was  a  time  in  our  history 
when  more  men  of  humble  origin  have  attained  com 
manding  positions  in  industry,  in  commerce,  and  in 
public  affairs  than  now.  While  our  American  system  is 
not  without  fault,  the  fact  that  an  enlightened  public  is 
ever  watchful  to  maintain  our  democratic  principles  and 
to  correct  abuses  is  convincing  proof  of  our  country's 
wholesome  development  in  conformity  with  the  changing 
conditions  of  modern  life. 

I  desire  to  make  acknowledgment  to  my  long-time  and 
esteemed  friend,  Mr.  Lawrence  Abbott,  the  President  of 
"The  Outlook,"  who  encouraged  and  advised  me  to 
write  these  memoirs  and  even  outlined  the  chapter  plan 
which  I  have  largely  followed. 


CONTENTS 

I.  ANCESTRY  AND  EARLY  YEARS  1 

II.  LAW,  BUSINESS,  AND  LETTERS  30 

III.  ENTERING  DIPLOMACY  50 

IV.  FIRST  TURKISH  MISSION  70 
V.  HARRISON,  CLEVELAND,  AND  McKiNLEY  105 

VI.  MY  SECOND  MISSION  TO  TURKEY  130 

VII.  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  163 

VIII.  INDUSTRIAL  DIPLOMACY  194 

IX.  IN  THE  CABINET  207 

X.  THE  TAFT  CAMPAIGN  OF  1908  248 

XL  MY  THIRD  MISSION  TO  TURKEY  271 

XII.  THE  PROGRESSIVES  307 

XIII.  THREATENING  CLOUDS  OF  WAB  327 

XIV.  PERSONAL  VIGNETTES  343 
XV.  THE  WORLD  WAR  370 

XVI.  PARIS  PEACE  CONFERENCE  396 

INDEX  431 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

OSCAR  S.  STRAUS  Frontispiece 

Photograph  by  the  Campbell  Studios,  New  York 

MOTHER  AND  FATHER  OF  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS  2 

BIRTHPLACE  or  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS,  OTTERBERG,  RHENISH 
BAVARIA  8 

CHAPEL  AND  SCHOOLHOUSE,  COLLINSWORTH  INSTITUTE, 
TALBOTTON,  GEORGIA  8 

OSCAR  S.  STRAUS  AT  Six  12 

OSCAR  S.  STRAUS  AT  THE  TIME  OF  HIS  GRADUATION  28 

LETTER  OF  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER  TO  PRESIDENT 
CLEVELAND  46 

MRS.  STRAUS  IN  TURKEY  62 

TESTIMONIAL  GIVEN  TO  MR.  STBAUS  IN  JERUSALEM  IN  AP 
PRECIATION  OF  THE  RELEASE  OF  SEVERAL  HUNDRED 
PRISONERS  84 

OSCAR  S.  STRAUS,  CONSTANTINOPLE,  1888  96 

PRESIDENT  McKiNLEY  SENDING  THE  AUTHOR  TO  TURKEY 
ON  HIS  SECOND  MISSION,  1898  124 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  RAILWAY  BOARD  OF  ADMINISTRATION     200 
THE  ROOSEVELT  CABINET  216 

MRS.  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS  246 

NATHAN,  OSCAR,  AND  ISIDOR  STRAUS  312 

Photograph  by  Pirie  MacDonald,  New  York,  1912 

ROGER  W.  STRAUS  392 


Under  Four  Administrations 

•     • 
• 

CHAPTER  I 
ANCESTRY  AND  EARLY  YEARS 

Napoleonic  Era:  the  Sanhedrin  —  A  forefather  in  Napoleon's  councils  —  My 
father  and  the  German  Revolution  of  1848  —  My  father  emigrates  to  America 

—  My  father  starts  business  hi  Talbotton,  Georgia  —  My  mother  and  her 
children  arrive,  1854  —  We  attend  the  Baptist  Church  —  My  early  schooling 

—  Deacons  duel  with  knives  —  Household  slaves  —  Life  in  a  small  Southern 
town  —  Frugal  and  ingenious  housekeeping  —  Outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  — 
Our  family  moves  to  Columbus,  Georgia  —  First  lessons  in  oratory  —  General 
Wilson's  capture  of  the  city  —  The  town  is  looted  —  Our  family  moves  North 

—  My  father  surprises  Northern  creditor  by  insisting  upon  paying  his  debts  in 
full  —  I  attend  Columbia  Grammar  School  in  New  York  City  —  My  accidental 
schoolroom  glory  before  Morse,  the  inventor  —  I  enter  Columbia  College  in 
1867  with  Brander  Matthews,  Stuyvesant  Fish,  and  other  distinguished  class 
mates —  My  classroom  d6but  hi  diplomacy  —  Poetic  ambitions  —  Military 
aspirations  and  an  interview  with  President  Grant  —  Choosing  law  as  a  career. 

MY  ancestors,  on  both  my  father's  and  my  mother's  side, 
were  natives  of  the  Palatinate  of  Bavaria,  of  the  town  of 
Otterberg  and  immediate  vicinity.  Up  to  the  time  of 
Napoleon's  taking  possession  of  that  part  of  the  coun 
try  the  Jews  of  the  Palatinate  had  not  adopted  family 
names.  This  they  did  later,  beginning  in  1808,  when, 
under  Napoleon,  the  Palatinate  became  the  Department 
of  Mont  Tennerre  and  part  of  France.  My  great-grand 
father,  for  instance,  before  adopting  the  family  name  of 
Straus,  was  known  as  Jacob  Lazar,  from  Jacob  ben 
Lazarus,  or  Jacob  son  of  Lazarus,  as  in  biblical  times. 

Jacob  Lazar,  afterwards  Jacob  Straus,  had  three  sons: 
Jacob,  Lazarus,  and  Salomon.  My  father,  Lazarus 
Straus,  born  April  25,  1809,  was  the  son  of  the  eldest, 


2          UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Jacob;  and  my  mother,  Sara  Straus,  born  January  14, 
1823,  was  the  daughter  of  the  youngest,  Salomon.  My 
paternal  grandfather  died  when  my  father  was  a  young 
man,  but  my  grandfather  Salomon  Straus  and  his 
brother  Lazarus  were  known  to  us  as  children,  particu 
larly  to  my  eldest  brother,  Isidor,  who  knew  them  quite 
well.  They  were  men  of  culture  and  education,  land 
owners  who  sent  their  crops  —  mainly  wheat,  oats, 
clover  and  clover  seed  —  and  those  of  their  neighbors  to 
the  markets  of  Kaiserslautern  and  Mannheim,  the  chief 
commercial  towns  of  the  section.  They  spoke  German 
and  French  fluently,  and  had  also,  of  course,  been  thor 
oughly  educated  in  the  Hebrew  language  and  literature. 

The  name  of  Straus  was  well  known  among  the  Jews 
of  Bavaria,  and  both  my  great-grandfather  and  my 
father  contributed  to  its  prominence.  During  1806  a 
spirit  of  reaction,  political  and  religious,  swept  over 
France,  making  itself  especially  troublesome  in  Alsace 
and  in  the  German  departments  of  the  upper  and  lower 
Rhine.  Exceptionable  and  restrictive  laws  were  advo 
cated  to  deprive  the  Jews  there  of  rights  they  were  enjoy 
ing  throughout  France.  As  had  happened  often  before, 
and  not  unknown  since,  the  reactionaries  fanned  the 
hatred  against  Jews,  making  them  the  scapegoats  in  their 
campaign  against  the  advancing  spirit  of  liberalism. 
Thus  the  cause  of  the  Jews  was  linked  with  the  cause  of 
liberty  itself. 

Napoleon  himself  was  at  first  prejudiced  against  the 
Jews,  regarding  them  as  usurers  and  extortioners.  He 
soon  realized,  however,  that  the  characteristics  which 
confronted  him  could  not  be  imputed  to  Judaism,  but 
were  due  rather  to  the  restricted  civil  and  industrial 
rights  of  the  Jews  and  to  their  general  unhappy  condi 
tion.  It  was  made  manifest  to  him  that  in  Bordeaux, 


THE  GREAT  SANHEDRIN  3 

Marseilles,  and  the  Italian  cities  of  France,  as  well  as  in 
Holland,  some  of  the  most  useful  and  patriotic  citizens 
were  Jews.  Napoleon  always  had  an  eye  on  his  historical 
reputation,  and  desiring  to  do  nothing  that  would  obscure 
his  fame,  he  decided  to  convene  a  council  of  representa 
tive  Jews  from  the  various  provinces.  Accordingly,  on 
May  30,  1806,  he  issued  his  decree,  famous  in  the  annals 
of  the  Jews  in  modern  times,  summoning  the  Assembly 
of  Notables  of  the  Jewish  nation  to  meet  in  Paris  the 
following  July.  The  prefects  in  the  various  provinces 
were  required  to  aid  in  the  selection  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  men  from  among  the  rabbis  and  the  laity. 

The  deputies  came  to  Paris  from  all  parts  of  the 
French  Empire.  They  numbered  one  hundred  and 
eleven  in  all,  and  spoke  French,  German,  and  Italian. 
Many  of  them  were  themselves  well  known,  others 
achieved  a  posthumous  glamour  in  the  deeds  of  de 
scendants  who  have  since  won  distinction  in  European 
history  and  in  the  annals  of  Jewry.  There  were  Joseph 
Sinzheim,  first  rabbi  of  Strasbourg,  foremost  Talmudist 
and  considered  the  most  scholarly  member  of  the  As 
sembly,  who  was  made  president  of  the  Assembly  and 
later  chairman  of  the  Great  Sanhedrin;  Michel  Berr, 
afterwards  the  first  French  Jew  to  practice  at  the  bar; 
Abraham  Furtado,  son  of  a  marano  or  crypto-Jewish  Por 
tuguese  family  from  which  was  also  descended  the  wife 
of  the  first  Benjamin  D 'Israeli  and  Sir  John  Simon;  Isaac 
Samuel  d'Avigdor  of  Nice,  grandfather  of  Jules  d'Avig- 
dor  who  was  a  member  of  the  Piedmont  Parliament; 
Israel  Ottolenghi,  an  ancestor  of  Italy's  late  Minister  of 
War;  Abraham  de  Cologna,  rabbi  of  Mantua,  a  great 
political  leader  and  reformer;  and  many  others  of  equal 
rank  and  caliber.  Their  task  was  a  monumental  one, 
for  it  was  nothing  less  than  to  justify  Judaism  and  Jewry 


4          UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

to  the  world;  and  they  assembled  with  a  full  consciousness 
of  their  responsibility. 

At  this  Assembly  my  great-grandfather  represented 
the  Department  of  Mont  Tennerre.  He  evidently  played 
an  important  part  in  the  diplomacy  which  this  unprec 
edented  council  involved,  for  he  was  a  member  of  the 
sub-committee  of  fifteen  delegated  to  meet  the  commis 
sioners  appointed  by  Napoleon,  also  a  member  of  the 
committee  to  which  the  Assembly  gave  the  delicate 
work  of  preparing  the  groundwork  for  discussion  with  the 
commissioners.  Subsequently  he  was  appointed  to  the 
committee  of  nine  of  the  Great  Sanhedrin  which  the  fol 
lowing  year  presented  to  Napoleon's  committee  the  con 
clusions  formulated  and  agreed  upon  by  the  Assembly, 
and  which  helped  to  bring  about  their  adoption. 

My  father,  in  turn,  was  active  in  the  revolutionary 
movement  in  1848.  This  was  an  heroic  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  liberal  forces  of  Europe  to  achieve  constitutional 
government,  and  when  it  failed  many  of  those  who  had 
borne  a  conspicuous  part  fled  to  other  countries.  Thus 
it  was  that  Generals  Sigel,  Schurz,  Stahl,  and  others, 
who  later  were  prominent  in  our  Civil  War,  came  to 
America.  These  men  and  their  immediate  followers  con 
stitute  one  of  the  most  valuable  groups  of  immigrants 
that  have  come  to  these  shores  since  our  government  was 
organized.  In  the  land  of  their  birth  they  had  already 
made  sacrifices  for  constitutionalism  and  democracy,  and 
basically  they  had  made  them  for  American  principles. 
They  were  Americans  in  spirit,  therefore,  even  before 
they  arrived. 

Having  been  active  only  locally  in  the  revolutionary 
movement,  my  father  was  not  prosecuted.  He  was  made 
aware,  however,  of  the  suspicions  of  the  authorities  and 


MY  FATHER  EMIGRATES  5 

was  subjected  to  all  those  petty  annoyances  and  dis 
criminations  which  a  reactionary  government  never  fails 
to  lay  upon  people  who  have  revolted,  and  revolted  in 
vain.  My  father  decided,  in  consequence,  to  emigrate. 
This  purpose  he  did  not  carry  into  effect  until  the  spring 
of  1852.  He  had  many  ties,  which  it  was  difficult  to 
break  at  once.  He  had  been  in  comfortable  circum 
stances,  like  his  father  and  grandfather  a  landowner  and 
dealer  on  a  large  scale  in  farm  products,  principally 
grains.  The  revolution  left  him  reduced  in  circumstances 
and  even  to  some  extent  in  debt.  He  had  four  children, 
of  whom  I  was  the  youngest,  being  then  less  than  a  year 
and  a  half  old.  Therefore,  like  the  prudent  man  he  was, 
he  waited,  and  then  came  to  America  alone  with  the 
purpose  of  establishing  himself  in  some  small  way  before 
allowing  his  family  to  exchange  the  comparative  security 
of  their  familiar  surroundings  for  the  insecurity  of  an 
unknown  land. 

He  landed  at  Philadelphia,  where  he  met  a  number  of 
former  acquaintances  who  had  preceded  him  to  America, 
some  of  whom  were  already  established  in  business.  They 
advised  him  to  go  South.  Acting  on  this  suggestion  he 
went  on  to  Oglethorpe,  Georgia,  where  he  met  some 
more  acquaintances  from  the  old  country.  Through 
them  he  made  a  connection  with  two  brothers  Kaufman, 
who  plied  the  peddler's  trade.  They  owned  a  peddler's 
wagon  with  which  they  dispensed  through  the  several 
counties  of  the  State  an  assortment  of  dry  goods  and 
what  was  known  as  "Yankee  notions." 

For  my  father  this  was  indeed  a  pioneer  business  in  a 
pioneer  country,  yet  it  was  not  like  the  peddling  of  to 
day.  In  the  fifties  the  population  of  the  whole  State  of 
Georgia  was  only  about  nine  hundred  thousand.  Because 
of  the  existence  of  slavery  there  were  on  the  large  planta- 


6          UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

tions  often  more  colored  people  than  there  were  whites 
living  in  the  near-by  villages.  The  itinerant  merchant, 
therefore,  filled  a  real  want,  and  his  vocation  was  looked 
upon  as  quite  dignified.  Indeed,  he  was  treated  by  the 
owners  of  the  plantations  with  a  spirit  of  equality  that  it 
is  hard  to  appreciate  to-day.  Then,  too,  the  existence  of 
slavery  drew  a  distinct  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
white  and  black  races.  This  gave  to  the  white  visitor  a 
status  of  equality  that  probably  otherwise  he  would  not 
have  enjoyed  to  such  a  degree. 

Provided  only,  therefore,  that  the  peddler  proved  him 
self  an  honorable,  upright  man,  who  conscientiously 
treated  his  customers  with  fairness  and  made  no  mis 
representations  regarding  his  wares,  he  was  treated  as  an 
honored  guest  by  the  plantation  owners  —  certainly  a 
spirit  of  true  democracy.  The  visits  were  made  periodi 
cally  and  were  quite  looked  forward  to  by  the  plantation 
owners.  The  peddler  usually  stayed  one  night  at  the 
house  of  his  customer  and  took  his  meals  with  the  family. 
Another  ideally  democratic  feature  about  these  sojourns 
was  that  spirit  of  Southern  hospitality  which,  even  in  the 
relationship  between  the  wealthiest,  most  aristocratic 
family  and  the  humble  peddler,  permitted  no  pay  for 
board  and  lodging,  and  only  a  small  charge  for  feed  for 
the  horses.  The  peddler  in  turn  usually  made  a  gift  to 
either  the  lady  or  her  daughter.  Often  he  provided  him 
self  with  articles  for  this  purpose,  but  usually  on  one 
visit  he  would  find  out  what  might  be  welcome  and  on  the 
next  visit  bring  it.  The  bonds  of  friendship  thus  made 
are,  I  venture  to  say,  hardly  understandable  in  our  day. 

In  the  course  of  these  wanderings  my  father  came  to 
Talbotton,  a  town  of  some  eight  or  nine  hundred  inhab 
itants,  the  county  seat  of  Talbot  County,  and  about 


MY  FATHER  STARTS  BUSINESS  7 

forty  miles  east  of  the  Alabama  boundary.  Talbotton 
immediately  impressed  him  so  favorably  that  he  selected 
it  as  the  next  home  for  his  family.  It  had  an  air  of  refine 
ment  that  pleased  him;  there  were  gardens  with  nicely 
cultivated  flowers  and  shrubbery,  and  houses  that  were 
neat,  well  kept,  and  properly  painted.  Upon  inquiry  he 
found  further  that  there  were  splendid  schools  for  both 
boys  and  girls. 

There  was  another  factor  which  doubtless  caused 
father  to  be  favorably  impressed  with  Talbotton;  it  was 
court  week  when  he  arrived,  at  which  time  a  town  has  a 
more  or  less  festive  appearance  and  is  at  its  best  so  far  as 
activity  is  concerned.  Then  there  was  a  third  factor  that 
influenced  him  to  settle  there.  Before  doing  business  in 
any  county,  peddlers  were  required  to  go  to  the  county 
seat  to  buy  a  license.  At  Talbotton  this  license  was  very 
high,  and  my  father  doubted  that  his  business  in  Talbot 
County  would  warrant  the  expense.  The  idea  occurred  to 
him  to  utilize  the  presence  of  the  many  strangers  in  town 
to  test  the  possibilities  of  the  place  by  unpacking  and 
displaying  his  goods  in  a  store.  An  interview  with  Cap 
tain  Curley,  the  only  tailor  in  the  town,  developed  the 
fact  that  the  store  he  occupied  was  too  large  for  his  needs 
and  he  would  be  willing  to  share  it  with  my  father.  So 
this  arrangement  was  promptly  made,  and  at  a  cost  less 
than  the  expense  of  the  county  license  for  itinerant  mer 
chandising. 

The  experiment  proved  most  satisfactory.  In  a  few 
weeks  the  stock  was  so  depleted  that  my  father  proposed 
to  his  partner  that  they  rent  a  store  and  settle  in  Talbot 
ton.  This  they  did.  My  father  then  prepared  to  go  to 
Philadelphia  to  get  a  stock  of  goods.  His  partner  coun 
seled  against  this.  There  was  a  merchant  in  Oglethorpe 
who,  up  to  this  point,  had  supplied  them  with  all  their 


8          UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

merchandise;  they  would  need  to  refer  to  him  for  credit, 
and  they  were  still  indebted  to  him  for  the  stock  in  hand; 
also,  he  would  probably  not  approve  of  their  settling 
down  in  a  store  instead  of  peddling.  The  new  store  of 
fered  large  display  space  in  comparison  with  the  wagon, 
and  the  partner  doubted  my  father's  ability  to  get 
enough  credit  in  Philadelphia  to  make  a  proper  display. 
Still  another  obstacle.  The  line  of  merchandise  that  was 
to  constitute  most  of  their  stock  was  what  was  then 
known  as  dry  goods  and  domestics.  This  business  was 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Yankees  and  the  most  diffi 
cult  one  in  which  to  gain  a  foothold,  especially  for  a 
German  immigrant  without  capital. 

However,  in  the  end  my  father  did  go  to  Philadelphia. 
He  had  found  several  acquaintances  in  that  city,  as  I 
have  already  said,  who  had  been  resident  in  his  neighbor 
hood  in  the  old  country.  These  people  were  established 
in  several  of  the  wholesale  houses  in  the  different  lines 
of  merchandise  he  required,  except  the  dry  goods.  And 
solely  on  the  strength  of  his  character  and  the  reputation 
he  had  had  in  Europe  he  was  able  to  establish  with  them 
the  necessary  credit,  which  neither  his  capital  nor  his 
business  experience  in  a  new  field  and  a  strange  country 
warranted.  In  fact,  their  faith  in  him  was  so  strong  that 
one  of  them  gladly  introduced  him  to  the  wholesale  dry 
goods  merchants,  and  he  was  able  to  accomplish  the  full 
purpose  of  his  mission,  to  the  great  amazement  of  his 
partner. 

That  was  in  1853,  and  marked  the  beginning  of  my 
family's  history  in  this  country.  This  bit  of  success 
encouraged  my  father  to  write  home  that  he  might  be 
able  to  have  us  join  him  the  following  year.  Accordingly, 
on  August  24,  1854,  our  little  party  left  Otterberg.  It 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  OSCAR  S.   STRAUS 
OTTERBERG,  RHENISH  BAVARIA 


CHAPEL  AND  SCHOOLHOUSE 
COLLINSWORTH  INSTITUTE,  TALBOTTON,  GEORGIA 


MY  MOTHER  COMES  TO  AMERICA          9 

was  a  journey  that  required  no  little  courage  and  re 
sourcefulness.  My  mother  had  three  years  before  suf 
fered  a  paralytic  stroke,  and  of  her  four  children  the 
eldest,  my  brother  Isidor,  was  only  nine  years  old.  My 
sister  Hermina  was  a  year  and  a  half  younger,  Nathan 
was  six,  and  I  was  only  three  and  a  half.  My  mother's 
father  accompanied  us  from  Otterberg  to  Kaiserslautern, 
he  on  horseback  and  the  rest  of  us  with  our  nursemaid 
in  a  carriage;  we  then  took  the  train  to  Forbach,  a  French 
frontier  town,  where  we  remained  overnight.  The  next 
morning  we  left  for  Paris.  There  we  stayed  until  August 
29th,  when  we  started  for  Havre  to  board  the  steamer 
St.  Louis  on  her  maiden  voyage.  As  our  boat  was  being 
docked  in  New  York  on  September  12th,  my  mother 
recognized  my  father  energetically  pacing  the  wharf. 
Minutes  seemed  like  hours. 

We  did  not  go  directly  to  Talbotton.  Yellow  fever 
was  raging  in  Savannah,  and  as  we  had  to  go  through 
that  port  en  route  to  Talbotton,  we  waited  in  Philadel 
phia  for  a  few  weeks,  until  the  danger  was  considered 
over.  Even  then  we  avoided  entering  the  city  until  it 
was  time  to  board  the  train  for  Geneva,  where  we  were  to 
take  the  stage-coach  for  the  remaining  seven  miles  to 
Talbotton.  The  boat  docked  at  Savannah  in  the  morn 
ing,  and  we  spent  the  day  until  evening  in  the  small 
shanty  that  was  called  the  station.  When  finally  we 
reached  Talbotton  we  found  a  very  comfortable  home 
ready  for  us.  My  precocious  brother  Isidor  immediately 
inspected  the  whole  and  thought  it  odd  to  be  in  a  house 
built  on  stilts,  as  he  called  it.  The  house,  typical  of  that 
locality,  had  no  cellar,  but  was  supported  by  an  open 
foundation  of  wooden  pillars  about  twenty-five  feet 
apart. 

Our  family  was  received  with  kindness  and  hospitality, 


10         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

so  that  in  a  very  few  years  our  parents  were  made  to  feel 
much  at  home.  My  mother,  wrho  had  considerable  ex 
perience  in  the  cultivation  of  flowers  and  vegetables,  soon 
had  a  garden  which  was  very  helpful  and  instructive  to 
her  circle  of  neighbors  and  friends.  My  father,  always  a 
student  and  well  versed  in  biblical  literature  and  the 
Bible,  which  he  read  in  the  original,  was  much  sought  by 
the  ministers  of  the  various  denominations,  several  of 
whom  habitually  dined  at  our  house  when  in  Talbotton 
on  their  circuit.  At  such  times  the  discussion  usually  ran 
along  theological  lines.  One  of  my  earliest  recollections  is 
hearing  my  father  take  passages  from  the  Old  Testament 
and  translate  them  literally  for  the  information  of  these 
ministers. 

We  were  the  only  Jewish  family  in  the  town.  This  at 
first  aroused  some  curiosity  among  those  who  had  never 
met  persons  of  our  race  or  religion  before.  I  remember 
hearing  some  one  doubt  that  we  were  Jews  and  remarking 
to  my  father,  who  had  very  blond  hair  and  blue  eyes, 
that  he  thought  all  Jews  had  black  hair  and  dark  com 
plexion. 

My  brother  Isidor  and  my  sister  were  immediately 
sent  to  school,  and  my  second  brother  and  I  were  sent  as 
soon  as  we  arrived  at  school  age.  I  was  seven  years  old 
when  I  began  learning  my  letters. 

My  main  religious  instruction  came  from  conversations 
with  my  father  and  from  the  discussions  the  ministers 
of  various  denominations  had  with  him,  which  I  always 
followed  with  great  interest.  When  my  brother  Nathan 
and  I  were  respectively  about  eleven  and  eight  and  a  half 
years  old,  we  were  sent  to -the  Baptist  Sunday  school 
upon  the  persuasion  of  the  Baptist  minister,  who  had 
become  an  intimate  friend  of  my  father's.  There  we  heard 


MY  EARLY  SCHOOLING  11 

the  Bible  read  and  were  taught  principally  from  the  Old 
Testament.  Our  teacher  was  a  gunsmith  who  had  more 
piety  than  knowledge,  and  what  he  lacked  in  erudition  he 
made  up  by  good  intentions  which,  after  all,  had  a  cultural 
value.  We  continued  our  attendance  some  two  years. 

At  eleven  I  entered  Collinsworth  Institute,  a  higher 
school  for  boys,  about  a  mile  outside  of  Talbotton.  Isidor 
had  been  there,  and  Nathan  was  there  then.  It  was  not 
a  large  school,  though  it  was  the  best  of  its  kind  in  our 
vicinity.  The  recitation  hall  or  chapel  was  a  little  frame 
building  standing  in  a  square,  and  around  that  were  eight 
or  ten  one-story  frame  houses  where  boys  coming  from  a 
distance  lived.  The  pupils  ranged  in  age  from  about  ten 
to  eighteen,  and  there  were  three  teachers.  We  were 
taught  the  three  R's,  and  the  advanced  pupils  studied 
the  classics. 

In  our  small  town,  being  the  county  seat,  we  had  gala 
days  each  month  when  the  court  convened  and  people 
came  from  the  surrounding  districts  as  for  a  holiday. 
There  was  much  drinking  of  gin  and  whiskey  by  the 
young  country  squires,  which  frequently  ended  up  ID 
some  fighting  where  pistols  and  knives  were  freely  used. 
This  all  left  a  deep  impression  on  my  young  mind  and 
made  me  a  prohibitionist  long  before  I  knew  the  meaning 
of  the  word.  In  the  North  when  boys  got  to  fighting  they 
used  their  fists;  in  the  South  they  used,  besides  their 
fists,  sticks  and  stones,  and  consequently  it  was  a  more 
serious  and  dangerous  affair.  If  in  the  North  one  boy 
cursed  another  or  called  him  a  liar,  it  would  not  necessa 
rily  lead  to  a  fist  fight;  in  fact,  it  usually  stopped  at  re 
crimination.  In  the  South  that  kind  of  quarreling  meant  a 
serious  fight.  I  think  because  of  these  facts  the  Southern 
boys  were  much  more  guarded  and  polite  to  each  other  in 
speech  than  was  customary  among  Northern  boys.  Per- 


12        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

haps  much  of  the  so-called  Southern  politeness  had  its 
roots  in  the  use,  in  boyhood,  of  milder  terms  in  case  of 
disagreement.  I  recall  one  fight  between  two  of  the  lead 
ing  men  of  Talbotton,  both  deacons  in  the  same  church. 
One  took  out  his  pocket  knife  and  cut  the  other's  throat, 
and  he  died.  After  considerable  delay  the  murderer  was 
tried,  but  because  of  his  high  standing  in  the  community 
he  was  acquitted,  doubtless  on  the  plea  of  self-defense, 
and  he  got  off  scot-free. 

As  a  boy  brought  up  in  the  South  I  never  questioned 
the  rights  or  wrongs  of  slavery.  Its  existence  I  regarded 
as  matter  of  course,  as  most  other  customs  or  institutions. 
The  grown  people  of  the  South,  whatever  they  thought 
about  it,  would  not,  except  in  rare  instances,  speak 
against  it;  and  even  then  in  the  most  private  and  guarded 
manner.  To  do  otherwise  would  subject  one  to  social 
ostracism.  We  heard  it  defended  in  the  pulpit  and  justi 
fied  on  biblical  grounds  by  leading  ministers.  With  my 
father  it  was  different.  I  frequently  heard  him  discuss 
the  subject  with  the  ministers  who  came  to  our  house, 
and  he  would  point  out  to  them  that  the  Bible  must  be 
read  with  discrimination  and  in  relation  to  the  period  to 
which  the  chapters  refer;  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  it  is  the  history  of  a  people  covering  more  than  a 
thousand  years;  and  that  even  then  there  had  been  no 
such  thing  as  perpetual  bondage,  as  all  slaves  were  de 
clared  free  in  the  year  of  jubilee. 

Looking  backward  and  making  comparisons  between 
my  observations  as  a  boy  in  the  South  and  later  in  the 
North,  I  find  there  was  much  more  freedom  of  expression 
in  the  North  than  in  the  South.  Few  people  in  the  South 
would  venture  to  express  themselves  against  the  current 
of  dominant  opinion  upon  matters  of  sectional  impor 
tance.  The  institution  of  slavery  with  all  that  it  implied 


OSCAR  S.  STRAUS  AT  SIX 


HOUSEHOLD  SLAVES  13 

seemed  to  have  had  the  effect  of  enslaving,  or,  to  use  a 
milder  term,  checking,  freedom  of  expression  on  the  part 
of  the  master  class  only  in  lesser  degree  than  among  the 
slaves  themselves. 

In  our  town,  as  in  all  Southern  communities,  the 
better  families  were  kind,  especially  to  their  household 
slaves,  whom  they  regarded  as  members  of  the  family 
requiring  guardianship  and  protection,  in  a  degree  as 
if  they  were  children.  And  the  slaves  addressed  their 
masters  by  their  first  names  and  their  mistresses  as 
"miss."  My  mother,  for  instance,  was  "Miss  Sara."  I 
recall  one  of  our  servants  pleading  with  my  mother: 
"Miss  Sara,  won't  you  buy  me,  I  want  to  stay  here.  I 
love  you  and  the  white  folks  here,  and  I  am  afraid  my 
master  will  hire  me  out  or  sell  me  to  some  one  else."  At 
that  tune  we  hired  our  servants  from  their  masters, 
whom  we  paid  an  agreed  price.  But  as  the  result  of 
such  constant  pleadings  my  father  purchased  household 
slaves  one  by  one  from  their  masters,  although  neither 
he  nor  my  mother  believed  in  slavery.  If  we  children 
spoke  to  the  slaves  harshly  or  disregarded  their  feelings, 
we  were  promptly  checked  and  reprimanded  by  our 
parents.  My  father  also  saw  to  it  that  our  two  men 
servants  learned  a  trade;  the  one  learned  tailoring  and  the 
other  how  to  make  shoes,  though  it  was  regarded  dis 
loyal,  at  any  rate  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  if  a  master 
permitted  a  slave  boy  or  girl  to  be  taught  even  reading 
and  writing.  When  later  we  came  North  we  took  with  us 
the  two  youngest  servants,  one  a  boy  about  my  age,  and 
the  other  a  girl  a  little  older.  They  were  too  young  to 
look  out  for  themselves,  and  so  far  as  they  knew  they 
had  no  relatives.  We  kept  them  with  us  until  they  grew 
up  and  could  look  out  for  themselves. 


14        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

The  people  throughout  the  South,  with  the  exception 
of  the  richer  plantation  owners,  lived  simply.  In  our 
household,  for  instance,  we  always  lived  well,  but  eco 
nomically.  My  mother  was  very  systematic  and  frugal. 
She  had  an  allowance  of  twenty  dollars  a  month,  and 
my  brother  Isidor  has  well  said  that  she  would  have 
managed  to  save  something  even  if  it  had  been  smaller. 
It  was  her  pleasure  to  be  her  own  financier,  and  small  as 
her  allowance  sounds  now,  she  was  able  in  the  course  of 
two  or  three  years  to  save  enough  to  buy  a  piano  for  my 
sister.  This  she  felt  to  be  an  expense  with  which  my 
father's  exchequer  should  not  be  taxed. 

We  raised  our  own  vegetables  and  chickens.  Fresh 
meat,  except  pork,  might  have  been  termed  a  luxury. 
Many  of  the  families  had  their  own  smokehouses,  as  we 
did,  which  were  filled  once  a  year,  at  the  hog-killing 
season.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  a  butcher  in  our 
little  town.  When  a  farmer  in  the  country  round  wanted 
to  slaughter  an  ox  or  a  sheep,  he  would  do  so  and  bring 
it  to  town,  exhibit  it  in  the  public  square  in  a  shanty 
called  the  market  (used  for  that  particular  occasion  and 
at  other  times  empty),  toll  the  bell  that  was  there,  and  in 
that  way  announce  that  some  fresh  meat  was  on  sale. 
This  procedure  never  occurred  oftener  than  once  in  two 
or  three  weeks  during  the  cold  weather. 

Ice  was  another  luxury  in  that  community.  It  had  to 
be  shipped  many  miles  and  was  therefore  brought  in  only 
occasionally,  mainly  for  a  confectioner  who  at  times  of 
fered  ice  cream  to  the  people. 

There  was  no  gas  lighting.  Oil  lamps  were  used,  but 
to  a  larger  extent  candles,  which  were  manufactured  in 
each  household,  of  fat  and  bees'  wax.  In  that  process  we 
children  all  helped. 

Indeed,  with  a  small  business  in  a  small  town  in  those 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR          15 

days  it  was  possible  for  a  man  to  accumulate  a  surplus 
only  through  the  practice  of  the  strictest  economy  by  his 
family  as  well  as  by  himself,  an  economy  almost  border 
ing  parsimony.  There  were  no  public  or  free  schools  in 
that  part  of  the  South;  every  textbook  had  to  be  bought 
and  tuition  paid  for;  and  there  were  four  of  us. 

When  the  war  broke  out  new  economies  were  called 
for.  A  simple  life  has  its  advantages;  it  is  conducive  to 
self-help,  also  to  the  ability  to  do  without  things  and 
meet  emergencies  without  unhappiness.  My  father's 
partner  joined  the  Fourth  Georgia  Regiment,  and  my 
brother  Isidor,  then  sixteen,  was  withdrawn  from  Col- 
linsworth  Institute  to  take  up  work  with  my  father.  He 
had  gained  some  experience  in  carrying  on  the  business 
by  helping  father  evenings,  for  our  store  was  open  until 
nine-thirty.  It  was  closed  during  the  supper  hour,  but 
reopened  thereafter. 

In  that  part  of  the  country  coffee  became  unobtainable 
except  when  now  and  then  a  few  bags  arrived  on  a  ship 
that  had  run  the  blockade.  Our  mothers  learned  to  give 
us  an  acceptable  substitute  by  cutting  sweet  potatoes 
into  little  cubes,  drying  them  in  the  sun,  then  roasting 
and  grinding  them,  together  with  grains  of  wheat,  like 
the  ordinary  bean.  This  made  a  hot  and  palatable  drink 
having  the  color  of  coffee  without  the  harmful  stimulus 
of  its  caffeine. 

Salt  also  became  scarce.  It  was  difficult  and  at  times 
impossible  to  obtain  enough  to  cure  our  pork.  Some  one 
discovered  that  the  earthen  floors  of  the  smokehouses 
were  impregnated  with  considerable  salt  from  previous 
curings,  so  a  method  was  invented  for  recovering  it  from 
that  source. 


10        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

In  the  later  years  of  the  war,  when  railway  trans 
portation  was  very  poor  and  in  many  localities  inter 
rupted,  we  did  not  suffer  for  food,  because,  as  I  have  said, 
most  households  in  the  small  towns  and  in  the  country 
raised  the  major  part  of  their  food  supplies;  they  had  their 
own  chickens,  eggs,  milk,  butter,  garden  provisions* 
Children  of  my  age  lived  largely  on  corn  bread  and 
molasses,  of  which  there  was  an  ever-plentiful  amount. 

During  the  second  year  of  the  war  my  father's  partner 
was  discharged  from  his  regiment  for  physical  disability. 
My  father,  always  insistent  upon  the  best  possible  educa 
tion  for  us  all,  therefore  urged  my  brother  Isidor  to  con 
tinue  his  studies.  Most  of  the  high  schools  and  colleges, 
however,  had  been  suspended  because  the  teachers,  as 
well  as  many  of  the  senior  scholars,  had  joined  the  army. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  war  had  fired  the  whole  South 
with  the  military  spirit,  and  as  was  natural  for  a  young 
man  barely  seventeen,  my  brother  chose  to  attend  the 
Georgia  Military  Academy  at  Marietta,  which  was  run 
ning  full  blast.  Earlier  in  the  war,  when  the  Fourth 
Georgia  Regiment,  taking  practically  all  the  able-bodied 
men  of  the  town,  had  left  for  the  front,  the  boys  of  Tal- 
botton  organized  a  company  of  which  Isidor  was  elected 
first  lieutenant.  They  had  offered  their  services  to  the 
governor  of  the  State,  but  he  replied  that  there  were  not 
enough  arms  to  equip  all  the  men,  so  that  equipping  boys 
was  out  of  the  question.  All  these  incidents  had  influ 
enced  my  brother  in  his  choice,  and  he  left  quite  enthusi 
astically  for  the  Georgia  Military  Academy  to  take  his 
entrance  examinations.  When  he  returned,  however,  his 
mood  was  much  different.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Marietta 
he  had  about  an  hour's  waiting  before  he  could  see  the 
proper  person.  Some  acquaintances  whom  he  met  on  the 
campus  invited  him  to  visit  their  living  quarters  mean- 


FIRST  LESSONS  IN  ORATORY  17 

while.  As  he  entered  one  of  the  rooms  the  door  stood 
ajar.  Without  noticing  this  he  gave  the  door  a  push,  re 
sulting  in  his  being  drenched  to  the  skin  by  a  bucket  of 
water  that  had  been  balanced  over  the  door  and  held 
there  by  the  position  of  the  door  when  ajar.  He  had  to 
return  to  the  hotel  to  change  his  entire  apparel.  He  had 
not  heard  of  hazing  before,  and  the  incident  disgusted 
him  so  that  he  never  returned  to  the  academy.  He  em 
barked  upon  his  career  as  a  merchant  the  very  next 
morning. 

In  1863  our  family  moved  to  Columbus,  Georgia.  It 
was  a  much  larger  place  than  Talbotton,  having  a  popula 
tion  of  about  twelve  thousand,  offered  more  opportuni 
ties,  and,  too,  my  brother  Isidor  had  already  found  em 
ployment  there.  With  its  broad  main  street  and  brick 
residences  it  looked  like  a  great  city  to  me. 

As  in  Talbotton,  there  were  no  public  schools  in 
Columbus,  so  I  was  sent  to  a  private  school  kept  by  an 
Irish  master  named  Flynn,  who  did  not  act  on  the  ped 
agogical  principle,  "Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the  child." 
By  him  I  was  taught  the  three  R's  and  began  Latin.  I 
also  experienced  my  first  stage-fright  at  Master  Flynn's, 
when  my  turn  came  to  speak  a  piece  before  the  entire 
school.  In  all  Southern  schools  much  emphasis  was 
placed  upon  elocution.  I  well  remember  practicing  be 
fore  a  mirror  and  reciting  under  the  trees  in  stentorian 
voice  with  dramatic  gesture  the  great  oration  put  into 
John  Adams's  mouth  by  Daniel  Webster,  beginning: 
"Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  give  my 
hand  and  my  heart  to  this  vote." 

After  another  year  this  school  was  discontinued  and  I 
was  sent  to  one  kept  by  a  Dr.  Dews.  He  was  a  teacher 
trained  in  the  classics  and  far  less  severe  than  Flynn, 


18        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

more  sympathetic  and  cultured.  Under  him  I  began 
Virgil  and  afterwards  Horace.  It  was  not  customary  to 
teach  English  grammar;  we  derived  that  from  our  labori 
ous  drilling  in  Latin  grammar. 

There  were  no  public  libraries,  and  few  families,  other 
than  those  of  professional  men,  had  many  books.  The 
standard  assortment  consisted  of  the  Bible,  Josephus, 
Burns;  some  had  Shakespeare's  works.  I  do  not  recall 
at  this  period  reading  any  book  outside  of  those  we  had 
for  study  at  school.  Boys  of  my  age  led  an  outdoor  life, 
indulging  in  seasonable  sports  which  rotated  from  top- 
spinning  to  marbles,  to  ball-playing,  principally  a  game 
called  town-ball.  We  all  had  shot-guns,  so  that  in  season 
and  out  we  went  bird-hunting  and  rabbit-hunting. 

We  went  barefooted  nine  months  of  the  year,  both  for 
comfort  and  economy.  As  in  Talbotton  we  lived  most 
economically.  We  were  not  poor  in  the  sense  of  being 
needy;  we  never  felt  in  any  way  dependent.  Our  home 
was  comfortable,  wholesome,  full  of  sunshine  and  good 
cheer,  and  always  hospitable  to  friends.  Our  wants  were 
few  and  simple,  so  we  had  plenty,  and  I  felt  as  inde 
pendent  as  any  child  of  the  rich. 

We  were  now  in  the  midst  of  the  Civil  War,  and 
money,  measured  in  gold,  was  worth  about  five  cents  per 
dollar.  My  brother  Nathan  seemed  to  be  affected  by  this 
into  constant  scheming  for  making  pocket  money.  He 
was  fifteen  years  old,  and  out  of  school  hours  helped 
father  in  the  store;  but  he  seemed  to  be  in  need  of  more 
pin-money.  He  finally  hit  on  a  plan  that  proved  quite 
lucrative.  He  collected  or  bought  up  pieces  of  hemp  rope 
and  sold  them  to  a  manufacturer.  Hemp  was  very  scarce 
and  much  needed.  With  the  proceeds  he  bought  a  beauti 
ful  bay  pony,  which  he  and  I  prized  more  than  any  pos* 
session  we  have  ever  had,  before  or  since. 


CAPTURE  OF  COLUMBUS  19 

On  the  16th  of  April,  1865,  after  a  feeble  skirmish  on 
the  part  of  the  citizen  soldiers,  mainly  superannuated 
men  and  schoolboys,  Columbus  was  captured  by  General 
James  H.  Wilson  at  the  head  of  a  cavalry  corps  of  fifteen 
thousand  men.  The  war  had  practically  ended  seven  days 
before,  as  Lee  surrendered  on  the  9th  at  Appomattox 
Court  House  in  Virginia;  but  as  telegraph  and  railroad 
communication  had  been  disrupted,  this  fact  was  not  yet 
known  in  our  part  of  Georgia.  As  soon  as  Wilson's  army 
took  possession  of  our  debilitated  city  general  confu 
sion  reigned.  Looting  began  by  the  town  rabble,  led 
by  several  drunken  Federal  soldiers;  cotton  warehouses 
were  burned,  the  contents  of  which  represented  the  sav 
ings  of  many,  including  most  of  my  father's;  all  horses 
were  seized,  and  among  them  our  little  pony,  which  I 
never  saw  again,  though  I  still  retain  a  vivid  picture  of 
him  in  my  mind's  eye.  Frequently  since,  when  I  have 
met  that  fine  and  accomplished  old  veteran,  General 
Wilson,  who  is  still  among  the  living,  hale  and  hearty,  I 
have  jestingly  reproached  him  for  taking  from  me  the 
most  treasured  possession  I  ever  had. 

This  incident  and  others  served  to  give  me  a  most 
vivid  impression  of  the  closing  years  of  the  Civil  War. 
Another  very  vivid  impression  that  occurred  shortly 
before  the  beginning  of  the  war  clings  to  my  memory. 
Robert  Toombs,  one  of  Georgia's  most  conspicuous 
United  States  Senators,  was  making  a  speech  at  the 
Masonic  Temple  in  Columbus,  Georgia.  It  was  a  hot 
summer  day.  Toombs  was  a  short,  thick,  heavy-set  man 
of  the  Websterian  type,  and  one  of  the  South's  most 
picturesque  orators.  After  the  election  of  Lincoln,  how 
ever,  Toombs  advocated  secession  and  resigned  from  the 
Senate,  was  talked  of  for  the  Confederate  presidency,  did 
become  Confederate  Secretary  of  State,  and  was  later 


20         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

commissioned  a  brigadier-general,  and  commanded  with 
distinction  in  numerous  battles  of  the  Civil  War.  During 
the  speech  I  heard  him  make,  he  drew  a  large  white  hand 
kerchief  from  his  pocket  with  a  flourish,  and  pausing 
before  mopping  his  perspiring  forehead,  he  exclaimed: 

"The  Yankees  will  not  and  can  not  fight!  I  will  guar 
antee  to  wipe  up  with  this  handkerchief  every  drop  of 
blood  that  is  spilt!" 

Neither  he  nor  the  audience  foresaw  what  was  coming. 
The  Civil  War  was  a  family  affair,  yet  the  hostility  it 
engendered  and  the  misconception  it  brought  in  its  train 
regarding  the  valor,  and  even  the  standards  of  civilization, 
of  the  enemy,  were  as  extreme  and  virulent  as  in  a  war 
between  nations  of  different  continents  and  races.  Such 
are  the  brutalizing  passions  war  arouses  in  banishing 
from  the  individual  mind  the  most  elementary  ideas  of 
brotherhood. 

When  the  war  ended  my  father  had  to  begin  life  anew, 
and  because  of  the  discouraging  prospects  and  conditions 
of  the  South  he  decided  to  move  North.  In  the  North, 
too,  he  could  more  readily  dispose  of  the  remainder  of  his 
cotton,  his  chief  asset,  to  pay  off  debts  which  he  owed  in 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  for  goods  purchased  before 
the  war.  With  the  few  thousand  dollars  remaining  after 
paying  these  debts,  and  with  good  credit,  he  thought  he 
could  begin  some  new  business  in  a  small  way. 

Simultaneously  with  our  arrival  in  Philadelphia  my 
brother  Isidor  arrived  in  New  York  from  Europe,  where 
he  had  gone  two  years  before  as  secretary  of  a  commission 
to  buy  supplies  for  the  State  of  Georgia.  The  blockade 
of  the  Southern  ports  became  so  effective  that  ships 
could  not  get  through,  so  that  he  did  not  succeed  in  get 
ting  over  the  supplies;  but  he  made  several  thousand 
dollars  in  the  sale  of  Confederate  bonds.  Upon  learning 


OUR  FAMILY  MOVES  NORTH     21 

in  New  York  that  we  were  in  Philadelphia,  he  immedi 
ately  came  there  to  find  out  my  father's  plans.  He  per 
suaded  father  that  New  York,  as  the  chief  market,  was 
preferable  to  Philadelphia  as  a  secondary  one.  Conse 
quently  we  moved  to  New  York,  and  father  and  Isidor, 
together  with  Nathan,  planned  to  establish  themselves 
in  the  wholesale  crockery  business.  Isidor,  twenty  years 
old,  first  used  part  of  his  fortune  to  buy  for  my  mother  a 
high-stoop,  three-story  brick  house  at  220  West  Forty- 
Ninth  Street,  now  long  since  torn  down,  but  which  we 
occupied  for  over  eighteen  years. 

It  was  fully  six  months  before  the  new  business  venture 
was  launched.  My  father  depended  for  his  part  of  the 
capital  upon  the  sale  of  the  remainder  of  his  cotton, 
which  had  been  shipped  to  Liverpool,  and  this  was  not 
effected  until  early  in  1866.  In  the  intervening  months  he 
visited  his  creditors  in  New  York  to  arrange  for  paying  his 
debts.  In  this  connection  I  remember  one  significant 
incident:  His  principal  New  York  creditor  was  the  dry 
goods  house  of  George  Bliss  &  Co.,  to  whom  he  owed  an 
amount  between  four  and  five  thousand  dollars.  (Bliss 
afterward  became  a  member  of  the  banking  firm  of 
Morton,  Bliss  &  Co.)  When  he  called  regarding  the  pay 
ment  of  this,  Mr.  Bliss  asked  how  old  he  was,  what 
family  he  had,  and  what  he  intended  doing.  My  father 
answered  that  he  was  fifty-seven,  that  he  had  a  wife  and 
four  children,  and  that  he  hoped  to  make  a  new  start  in 
the  wholesale  crockery  business.  "I  don't  think  you  are 
fair  to  your  family  and  yourself,"  said  Mr.  Bliss,  "to 
deprive  yourself  of  the  slender  means  you  tell  me  you 
possess  by  paying  out  your  available  resources.  I  will 
compromise  with  you  for  less  than  the  full  amount  in  view 
of  the  hardships  of  the  war  and  your  family  obligations." 

My  father  had  a  very  high  sense  of  honor  and  was 


22        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

always  more  concerned  in  maintaining  it  beyond  pos 
sible  reproach  than  in  making  money.  Some  parents 
forget  that  they  cannot  successfully  live  by  one  standard 
outside  and  another  inside  the  home,  and  many  never 
realize  that  children  are  influenced  not  so  much  by  the 
preaching  as  by  the  true  and  real  spirit  of  their  parents. 
My  father  believed  that  "a  good  name  is  better  than 
riches,"  and  within  the  home  or  without  he  lived  up  to 
that  standard.  I  clearly  remember  the  impression  I  re 
ceived  of  his  integrity  at  the  time  of  this  Bliss  incident, 
and  of  a  certain  feeling  of  compunction  on  the  part  of  his 
creditor,  as  though  he  had  expected  something  different. 
Most  Southern  merchants  regarded  themselves  morally 
freed  from  paying  Northern  creditors  because  the  Con 
federate  government  had  confiscated  such  debts  and  com 
pelled  the  debtors  to  pay  the  amounts  to  the  government. 
But  my  father  held  true  to  his  standard,  and  I  well  re 
member  his  parting  words  to  Bliss  that  day:  "I  propose 
to  pay  my  debts  in  full  and  leave  to  my  children  a  good 
name  even  if  I  should  leave  them  nothing  else." 

My  brother  Isidor,  always  my  guide,  philosopher,  and 
friend,  now  arranged  for  my  schooling.  In  my  geography 
textbook  was  a  picture  of  Columbia  College,  and  I  had 
the  fixed  idea  that  when  we  came  to  New  York  I  wanted 
to  go  there.  On  inquiry  we  learned  that  I  was  too  young, 
for  I  was  only  fourteen  and  a  half,  and  that  I  had  not  the 
requirements  for  admission.  So  in  the  autumn  of  1865 
Isidor  had  me  enter  Columbia  Grammar  School,  then  one 
of  the  best  schools  in  the  city.  It  was  my  first  experience 
in  a  really  first-rate  school,  and  the  teaching  was  so  much 
more  thorough  and  exact  than  my  previous  training  had 
been  that  it  seemed  to  me  I  had  to  learn  everything  anew. 
The  tuition  fee  and  the  cost  of  books  was  considerable,  in 


AT  COLUMBIA  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL        23 

view  of  the  modest  income  of  the  family;  but  my  father, 
economical  in  all  other  respects,  was  liberal  beyond  his 
means  where  the  education  of  his  children  was  concerned. 
My  brother,  moreover,  was  desirous  that  I  should  have 
the  advantages  of  the  college  training  which  circum 
stances,  notably  the  war,  had  withheld  from  him. 

I  appreciated  to  the  full  the  privileges  I  was  permitted 
to  enjoy  and  studied  with  all  my  might.  The  school 
regulations  required  that  parents  fill  out  a  blank  each 
week  stating,  among  other  things,  the  number  of  hours 
we  studied  at  home.  The  average  number  of  hours  daily 
reported  were  three  or  four,  and  as  my  record  was  fully 
double  that,  I  felt  rather  ashamed  to  give  the  true 
number,  so  I  always  gave  less.  The  school  was  on 
Fourth  Avenue  and  Twenty-Seventh  Street,  and  our 
home  on  Forty-Ninth  Street  was  near  Eighth  Avenue.  I 
invariably  walked  both  ways,  saving  car  fares  and  at  the 
same  time  conserving  my  health,  for  aside  from  a  half- 
hour  of  gymnastics  twice  a  week  in  school  I  had  neither 
time  nor  opportunity  otherwise  to  get  the  exercise  my 
body  required. 

Owing  to  the  careless  preparation  I  had  received  at  the 
schools  in  the  South,  I  made  a  poor  showing  in  spite  of 
my  hard  work  now,  though  on  one  occasion  I  shone  with 
accidental  glory.  It  was  the  custom  for  the  instructor  to 
put  the  same  question  to  pupil  after  pupil,  and  to  elevate 
the  one  who  gave  the  correct  answer  to  the  head  of  the 
class.  In  this  instance,  it  so  happened  that  I  gave  the 
fortunate  answer  and  thus  qualified  for  the  seat  of  scho 
lastic  eminence.  As  I  sat  there  enjoying  a  near  view  of 
the  teacher's  countenance,  I  wondered  how  long  I  should 
remain  thus  distinguished,  and  was  unable  to  resist  the 
impulse  to  cast  an  occasional  backward  glance  at  the 
rows  of  seats  in  the  rear. 


24        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

At  about  this  time,  an  elderly  gentleman  of  distin 
guished  appearance  entered  the  classroom.  He  was 
S.  F.  B.  Morse,  inventor  of  the  telegraph.  Morse,  whose 
grandson  was  in  my  class,  knowing  the  custom  and  ob 
serving  me  in  the  seat  of  honor,  complimented  me.  He 
observed  that  I,  like  himself,  had  a  large  head  in  com 
parison  with  the  body,  and  remarked  that  I  must  be  a 
bright  boy.  But  I  felt  embarrassed  rather  than  gratified 
at  the  praise,  for  I  knew,  and  so  did  the  rest,  that  I  did 
not  deserve  it.  I  still  recall  that  scene,  and  see  the  vener 
able  old  man,  then  seventy-five  years  old,  with  the  long 
white  beard  that  made  him  look  even  older. 

When  the  time  came,  in  the  spring  of  1867,  for  our 
class  to  go  up  for  college  examination,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Bacon,  successor  as  principal  of  the  school  to  Charles 
Anthon,  the  distinguished  classical  scholar  and  editor  of 
classical  works,  called  the  boys  of  our  class  before  him 
and  gave  us  each  a  blessing  with  some  encouraging  words. 
When  my  turn  came  he  was  very  kind,  telling  me  he 
knew  I  had  tried  hard,  but  because  of  my  early  train 
ing,  or  lack  of  it,  he  feared  I  might  not  pass.  I  saw  my 
chances  of  a  college  education  go  glimmering.  There 
were,  however,  still  two  weeks  before  the  examinations, 
and  I  determined  to  use  those  for  all  they  were  worth. 
I  worked  night  and  day,  cramming  with  a  vengeance. 
I  felt  I  could  not  expect  my  father  to  keep  me  in  school 
another  year  when  after  two  years  of  preparation  I  had 
shown  myself  so  deficient.  That  thought  was  my  spur, 
though  in  point  of  fact  I  am  sure  both  my  brother  Isidor 
and  my  father,  realizing  I  had  done  the  best  I  could, 
would  have  insisted  upon  my  taking  another  year  for 
preparation. 

The  result  of  my  entrance  examinations  was  more 
favorable  than  I  could  have  hoped.  It  turned  out  that 


IN  COLUMBIA  COLLEGE  25 

I  was  the  only  one  from  our  grammar  school  class  to  pass 
in  all  subjects  without  a  single  condition.  It  was  luck 
rather  than  brilliancy.  The  professor  who  examined  my 
classmates  in  ancient  geography,  being  the  author  of 
the  book  upon  which  the  examination  was  held,  was  so 
meticulous  that  unless  the  student  gave  the  answer 
exactly  as  in  the  book  he  was  marked  deficient.  By  the 
time  it  came  my  turn  to  be  examined  another  and  more 
generous-minded  professor  had  taken  his  place  and 
passed  me  with  the  highest  mark.  The  others,  who  had 
all  flunked,  regarded  me,  in  their  own  language,  as  "the 
lucky  dog." 

My  college  course  began  on  October  7,  1867.  Here  I 
did  not  find  the  studies  hard.  I  had  ample  leisure  for 
reading  and  took  full  advantage  of  the  college  library, 
from  which  we  were  free  to  select  and  take  home  whatever 
books  we  desired.  Then,  as  now,  I  cared  little  for  fiction. 
To  me  the  literature  of  facts  was  more  interesting  and 
therefore  lighter  reading,  and  I  read  much  biography  and 
history. 

Our  class  matriculated  fifty-two,  but  dwindled  down 
to  thirty-one  by  graduation.  In  the  class  were  Brander 
Matthews,  now  professor  of  literature  at  Columbia  as 
well  as  literary  and  dramatic  critic;  Robert  Fulton  Cut 
ting,  financier  and  ideal  citizen,  descendant  of  an  old  and 
famous  New  York  family,  as  his  name  indicates;  Stuy- 
vesant  Fish,  banker,  also  of  a  well-known  New  York 
family,  whose  father,  Hamilton  Fish,  was  Secretary  of 
State  in  the  Grant  Cabinet,  and  whose  grandfather  and 
father  both  were  among  Columbia  alumni;  and  Henry 
Van  Rensselaer,  who  became  a  Jesuit  father  and  is  now 
no  longer  among  the  living. 

At  the  commemoration  of  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth 


26         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  college  three  of  us  — 
Robert  Fulton  Cutting,  Brander  Matthews,  and  myself 
—  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  At  this  writ 
ing,  fifty  years  after  graduation,  there  are  but  ten  of  us 
remaining. 

The  most  coveted  honors  in  those  days  were  to  be  had 
for  literary  achievement  and  class  rank.  Among  the 
few  prizes  was  one  known  as  the  Alumni  Prize,  awarded 
to  the  most  deserving  student  in  the  graduating  class. 
The  college  board  nominated  for  that  honor  William 
Henry  Sage,  now  our  class  historian,  Joseph  Fenelon 
Vermilye,  and  myself;  and  the  class  elected  Vermilye  for 
the  prize. 

Athletics  had  not  attained  the  vogue  it  has  in  American 
universities  to-day,  and  was  particularly  absent  in  our 
college,  confined  then  to  a  city  block.  Doubtless  due  to 
this  lack  the  boys  of  our  class,  on  the  whole  a  spirited  and 
boisterous  lot,  found  self-expression  in  a  disregard  for 
proper  decorum  in  the  lecture  rooms.  There  was  one  pe 
riod  where  this  was  conspicuously  the  case.  The  subject 
was  Evidences  of  Christianity.  It  was  compulsory  and 
along  denominational  lines.  It  did  not  interest  many  of 
the  boys,  and  some  of  those  who  were  not  Episcopalians 
even  resented  it;  to  boot,  the  professor,  Rev.  Dr.  Mc- 
Vickar,  was  a  mild-mannered  man,  entirely  unable  to 
maintain  discipline.  The  result  was  frequent  and  various 
disturbances  during  the  sessions  of  his  class,  which  often 
put  the  good-natured  and  unsophisticated  man  at  his 
wits'  end.  He  complained  to  the  college  board,  and 
President  Barnard  took  the  matter  up  with  some  serious 
ness,  but  no  real  appeasement. 

s  I  felt  great  sympathy  for  Dr.  McVickar,  for  he  was 
earnest  and  gentle,  and  took  much  to  heart  the  conduct 
of  the  men  in  his  class.  Of  course,  in  common  with  most 


CLASSROOM  DIPLOMACY  27 

of  my  classmates  I  strongly  favored  that  the  subject  be 
elective  instead  of  compulsory;  yet  I  realized  that,  as 
colleges  were  then  constituted,  the  original  Columbia 
being  largely  an  Episcopalian  foundation,  there  was  a 
legal  right,  as  distinguished  from  reason,  for  the  require 
ment  that  the  course  in  Evidences  of  Christianity  be 
compulsory. 

One  day  when  the  disturbances  became  most  flagrant, 
and  the  poor  professor  was  really  quite  helpless,  I  ven 
tured  to  point  out  to  him  how  he  might  bring  about 
order.  He  received  my  suggestion  most  favorably,  so  I 
asked  him  to  let  me  take  his  chair  for  a  few  moments.  I 
made  a  brief  appeal  to  the  class,  reminding  them  that  we 
were  now  seniors,  and  that  there  were  some,  especially 
those  intending  to  study  for  the  ministry,  who  were 
interested  in  the  subject  and  prevented  from  following  it 
by  the  boisterous  behavior  of  the  rest.  I  was  jeeringly 
dubbed  Professor  Straus,  but  I  went  right  on.  I  said  I 
knew  there  were  a  number  who  were  opposed  to  the 
study  of  Evidences  of  Christianity,  and  I  proposed  that 
they  rise.  To  those  who  got  up  I  gave  permission  to 
leave  the  room,  and  as  I  recall  it,  there  were  some  eight 
or  ten  left.  Then  I  turned  to  Dr.  McVickar  and  said, 
"Here  is  a  class  you  can  teach."  And  the  session  went  on 
smoothly  enough.  Subsequently  a  petition  was  drawn 
up  and  signed  by  a  large  majority  of  the  class,  asking 
that  we  be  excused  from  examinations  in  this  particular 
subject;  but  President  Barnard  replied  that  the  request 
could  not  be  entertained. 

On  the  whole  my  four  years  at  college  were  full  of 
serious  effort  and  not  altogether  free  from  anxiety.  I  had 
a  restless  ambition  to  have  a  useful  career  and  it  seemed 
difficult  to  discover  for  what  I  was  best  fitted.  For  a 


28         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

while,  in  those  dreamy  days,  I  even  believed  I  might 
achieve  some  measure  of  success  as  a  poet.  I  recall  with 
a  smile  that  the  choice  for  class  poet  at  commencement 
lay  between  Brander  Matthews,  whom  we  then  knew  as 
James  Brander  Matthews,  and  myself.  And  for  some 
reason,  which  posterity  will  doubtless  find  even  more 
difficult  to  fathom  than  I  have,  I  was  chosen.  Matthews 
had  already  given  evidence  of  his  literary  talents;  he  con 
tributed  much  to  the  college  papers,  and  wrote  humor 
ous  poems.  However,  at  our  graduation  exercises  held 
in  the  Academy  of  Music,  Fourteenth  Street  and  Irving 
Place,  the  city's  largest  auditorium  then,  my  class  poem 
was  well  received  by  a  capacity  audience  of  proud  par 
ents  and  sympathetic  friends.  I  had  gravely  entitled  it 
"Truth  and  Error." 

A  more  fervent  aspiration  held  by  me  in  those  years 
was  to  devote  my  life  to  the  nation,  and  I  could  conceive 
no  better  way  of  doing  so  than  to  enter  the  army.  One 
day  I  saw  an  item  in  the  press  that  President  Grant  had 
several  appointments  to  make  to  the  United  States 
Military  Academy.  I  consulted  with  Dr.  F.  A.  P.  Bar 
nard,  president  of  Columbia,  and  he  gave  me  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  Grant,  highly  commending  me  for  an 
appointment.  When  President  Grant  came  to  New 
York  I  called  on  him.  He  received  me  very  kindly,  but 
informed  me  that  he  had  only  something  like  eight  ap 
pointments  allowed  him  by  law,  and  he  had  decided  to 
give  them  where  possible  to  the  sons  of  officers  who  had 
been  killed  in  the  war;  if,  however,  there  were  not  enough 
such  candidates  he  would  be  glad  to  give  me  a  chance. 
I  told  him  I  thoroughly  agreed  that  his  decision  was  so 
appropriate  that  I  would  not  even  ask  to  be  appointed 
under  the  circumstances. 

During  the  second  hall  of  my  senior  year  I  finally 


OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 
At  the  time  of  hi$  graduation 


CHOOSING  LAW  AS  A  CAREER  39 

chose  the  law  as  my  vocation.  I  preferred  it  to  a  business 
career  because  I  disliked  the  idea  of  devoting  my  life 
to  mere  money-making,  as  business  appeared  to  me  then. 
My  outlook  was  idealistic  rather  than  practical,  and  to 
harmonize  it  with  the  workaday  world  caused  me  much 
mental  anguish  and  struggle,  as  it  does  many  a  young 
man,  even  where  affluent  fortune  has  smiled.  However, 
my  father  and  brother  had  begun  to  prosper  and  had  no 
need  for  my  cooperation  unless  on  my  own  account  I 
chose  to  join  them.  Besides,  I  was  the  youngest  and  had 
the  benefit  of  the  brotherly  interest  and  economic  pro 
tection  of  Isidor  and  Nathan,  should  I  need  it.  This  gave 
me  a  feeling  of  security,  and  encouraged  me  to  put  forth 
my  best  efforts  not  only  to  succeed  for  myself,  but  to 
show  my  appreciation  to  them.  Where,  under  moderate 
circumstances,  a  family  puts  forth  cooperative  effort  in 
making  its  way  forward,  closer  family  ties  result,  with  the 
advantages  of  stimulating  unselfishness  and  common 
devotion,  which  in  turn  promote  a  happiness  that  mem 
bers  of  richer  families  often  miss  because  of  their  more 
independent  relations. 

So  I  prepared  to  enter  Columbia  Law  School  in  the 
fall  of  1871.  Meanwhile  that  summer  I  took  my  first 
vacation  since  coming  to  New  York.  I  went  to  Wyoming 
Valley,  near  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  I  had  a 
good  time  despite  the  farmer  with  whom  I  boarded. 
Perhaps  I  had  no  right  to  expect  much  for  the  five  dollars 
a  week  I  paid  him;  but  whatever  I  expected  I  know  I  got 
less.  However,  there  were  fish  in  the  brooks  and  I  do  not 
recall  that  I  starved.  I  had  spent  other  summers  assisting 
in  some  branch  of  my  father's  business,  not  because  I 
relished  work  unduly,  but  because  I  regarded  it  less  as 
labor  than  as  diversion.  It  was  interesting  and  useful 
activity  which  gave  me  an  understanding  of  business  that 
was  valuable  later  in  following  my  chosen  profession. 


CHAPTER  II 
LAW,  BUSINESS,  AND  LETTERS 

Columbia  Law  School  —  Impressions  of  the  faculty  —  I  begin  law  practice  — 
Early  partnerships  —  A  $10,000  fee  —  Founding  of  the  Young  Men's  Hebrew 
Association  in  1874  —  The  "dissipations"  of  a  law  partner  —  The  Hepburn 
Committee  on  railway  rates;  my  partner  Simon  Sterne  represents  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  —  On  the  bridle-path  with  Joseph  H.  Choate  —  I  become  a 
member  of  L.  Straus  &  Sons,  manufacturers  and  importers  —  My  marriage  to 
Miss  Sarah  Lavanburg  —  My  de"but  in  politics  —  The  Cleveland-Blaine  cam 
paign —  The  "rum,  Romanism,  and  rebellion"  episode  —  "Origin  of  the 
Republican  Form  of  Government,"  my  first  book  —  Recommended  as  minister 
to  Turkey;  Henry  Ward  Beecher  writes  the  President  —  Cleveland  nominates 
me  minister  to  Turkey. 

COLUMBIA  LAW  SCHOOL  in  1871  was  at  Lafayette  Place. 
The  course  covered  two  years,  at  the  end  of  which  a  suc 
cessful  examination  entitled  a  student  to  admission  to 
the  bar  without  a  further  State  examination,  and  for 
those  who  gave  serious  attention  to  the  course  it  was  an 
easy  matter  to  pass  this  finishing  examination. 

Particularly  worthy  of  mention  with  regard  to  the 
school  are  Professors  Theodore  W.  Dwight  and  Francis 
Lieber.  Professor  Dwight,  the  able  director  of  the  school 
at  that  time,  well  deserved  his  great  reputation  as  the 
most  distinguished  teacher  of  law  in  the  country.  He 
was  not  only  a  master  of  his  subject,  but  had  a  marvelous 
gift  for  imparting  his  great  knowledge. 

Professor  Lieber,  whose  lectures  we  attended  once  a 
week,  taught  us  political  science.  He  was  a  Prussian 
veteran  who  fought  in  the  Battle  of  Waterloo.  At  the 
close  of  the  Napoleonic  Wars  he  had  returned  to  his 
studies  in  Berlin,  and  thereafter  was  arrested  several 
times  for  his  outspoken  liberal  views.  After  frequent 
persecution  and  even  imprisonment,  he  fled  to  England, 
and  in  1827  came  to  America. 


COLUMBIA  LAW  SCHOOL  31 

He  was  author  of  many  books  on  legal  and  political 
matters,  among  them  "Civil  Liberty  and  Self -Govern 
ment,"  which  was  adopted  as  a  textbook  in  several  of  our 
universities.  In  1863  he  prepared  *' Instructions  for  the 
Government  of  Armies  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
Field,"  which  Lincoln  promulgated  as  Order  No.  100  of 
the  War  Department.  It  was  a  masterly  piece  of  work, 
embodying  advanced  humanitarian  principles,  and  it 
later  formed  the  basis  of  several  European  codes. 

As  a  rule,  egotism  and  real  merit  negate  one  another 
rather  than  coordinate;  Lieber  was  the  exception.  He 
had  both,  and  combined  them  to  a  marked  degree,  some 
times  in  a  manner  that  afforded  amusement  to  his  stu 
dents.  For  instance,  he  referred  continuously  to  "my 
Civil  Liberty"  as  a  book  of  extraordinary  erudition,  new 
in  its  field  and  the  last  word  on  the  matter.  He  was  so 
full  of  his  subject  that  he  was  apt  to  lose  himself  and 
stray  off,  with  his  distinctly  German  accent,  into  the 
vast  field  of  his  profound  philosophical  and  historical 
knowledge.  A  veritable  encyclopaedia  of  information,  he 
was  really  more  of  an  expounder  than  a  teacher.  As  his 
course  was  optional,  those  who  came  to  listen  came  to 
learn,  and  we  received  a  larger  view  of  the  function  of 
law  in  civil  society  than  we  derived  from  all  our  studies 
of  municipal  law. 

I  was  graduated  from  law  school  in  June,  1873,  and 
immediately  entered  the  offices  of  Ward,  Jones  &  White- 
head,  one  of  New  York's  prominent  firms.  John  E.  Ward, 
the  senior  member,  who  presided  over  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  that  nominated  Buchanan,  and 
later  served  for  two  or  three  years  as  Minister  to  China, 
was  a  friend  of  my  brother's,  and  he  took  me  into  his 
office  largely  out  of  friendship  for  Isidor. 


32        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

I  remained  with  this  firm  only  a  few  months.  Later  in 
1873  I  formed  a  partnership  with  James  A.  Hudson,  a 
man  about  ten  years  older  than  I,  who  had  also  been 
associated  with  the  Ward  firm.  As  Hudson  &  Straus  we 
opened  offices  on  the  fourth  floor  of  59  Wall  Street. 

On  the  same  floor  in  this  building  was  the  office  of 
Charles  O' Conor,  then  the  acknowledged  head  of  the 
American  Bar.  He  had  practically  retired,  but  retained 
a  small  office  of  one  or  two  rooms,  with  one  clerk.  He 
came  in  only  two  or  three  times  a  week.  Often  when  he 
felt  fatigued  he  would  rest  on  a  lounge  in  a  room  set  apart 
as  library  in  our  office.  For  a  young  lawyer  like  myself  it 
was  an  unusual  privilege  to  have  such  pleasant  personal 
relations  with  so  able  and  wise  a  leader  in  the  profession. 
Incidentally  I  think  O' Conor  was  instrumental  in  sending 
us  our  first  important  case,  the  collection  of  an  old  debt 
of  considerable  size.  We  were  so  successful  for  our  client 
that,  of  his  own  accord,  he  sent  us  a  check  for  ten  thou 
sand  dollars,  saying  he  would  make  it  larger  if  we  re 
garded  it  insufficient.  The  fact  was,  the  amount  was 
larger  than  we  had  thought  of  charging,  and  we  frankly 
told  him  so.  WTith  five  thousand  dollars  in  reserve  I  felt 
rich  and  independent.  My  wants  were  naturally  simple 
and  our  general  practice  was  encouraging. 

At  about  this  time  I  first  became  active  in  public- 
spirited  undertakings.  The  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  a  few  years  before  had  opened  its  Twenty- 
Third  Street  Branch  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  Avenue  and 
Twenty-Third  Street,  and  the  movement  on  the  whole 
was  getting  much  publicity  and  proving  very  successful 
in  its  work  among  young  men.  But  it  was  an  institution 
for  Christians,  and  it  occurred  to  several  of  us  —  as  I 
remember  it,  there  were  two  of  my  fellow  members  of  the 


YOUNG  MEN'S  HEBREW  ASSOCIATION     33 

bar,  Meyer  S.  Isaacs  and  Isaac  S.  Isaacs;  Dr.  Simeon  N. 
Leo,  Solomon  B.  Solomon,  and  myself  —  that  it  would 
be  a  useful  undertaking  if  we  organized  a  Young  Men's 
Hebrew  Association  for  the  cultural  and  intellectual 
advancement  of  Jewish  young  men.  After  a  few  pre 
liminary  meetings  we  launched  our  project  early  in  1874. 
We  rented  a  house  in  the  vicinity  of  Nineteenth  or 
Twentieth  Street  and  began  in  a  very  modest  way.  Our 
first  entertainment  was  of  a  purely  literary  nature,  and  I 
recollect  on  that  occasion  addressing  the  members  of  the 
infant  enterprise  on  the  subject  of  literary  clubs,  ancient 
and  modern,  from  the  time  of  Socrates  and  Plato  to  the 
days  of  the  coffee  houses  of  Addison,  Steele,  and  Gold 
smith.  The  Y.M.H.A.  subsequently  had  its  years  of 
struggle  for  existence,  but  to-day  its  place  in  our  cities 
as  an  influence  for  the  development  of  culture  and  patri 
otism  is  assured,  as  well  as  that  of  its  sister  organization 
of  later  birth,  the  Young  Women's  Hebrew  Association. 

I  had  chosen  the  law  as  my  profession,  but  I  still 
wrote  verse,  and  in  the  decade  following  my  graduation 
published  several  pieces.  At  one  memorable  event  I  was 
invited  to  deliver  an  original  poem.  It  was  in  1875,  at  a 
large  fair  in  Gilmore's  Garden,  the  predecessor  of  the 
present  Madison  Square  Garden.  The  fair  was  held  to 
raise  funds  toward  the  erection  of  a  new  building  for  the 
Mount  Sinai  Hospital,  and  the  immense  auditorium  was 
crowded.  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  then  Governor  of  New  York 
and  also  prospective  Democratic  nominee  for  Presi 
dent,  made  the  opening  address.  My  poetic  possibilities, 
however,  rested  more  upon  aspiration  than  inspiration, 
and  my  craving  for  versification  was  but  a  passing 
phase  of  my  literary  activities. 

About  1876  we  removed  our  office  to  the  New  York 
Life  Building,  then,  as  now,  at  346  Broadway,  corner  of 


34         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Leonard  Street.  Our  clientele  was  mostly  commercial 
and  this  neighborhood  seemed  more  convenient.  Our 
neighbors  at  the  new  location  were  Chamberlain,  Carter 
&  Eaton,  a  prominent  commercial  law  firm  of  which 
Charles  E.  Hughes  subsequently  became  a  member. 

A  few  years  later  we  took  into  our  firm  Simon  Sterne, 
then  one  of  the  brilliant  younger  members  of  the  bar,  and 
our  firm  became  Sterne,  Hudson  &  Straus.  But  Hudson 
wanted  to  devote  himself  to  patent  law,  in  which  he  had 
specialized  somewhat,  so  the  firm  soon  changed  again  to 
Sterne,  Straus  &  Thompson.  Daniel  G.  Thompson  had 
been  our  managing  clerk.  He  had  an  attractive  person 
ality  and  a  philosophical  temperament,  but  was  more  a 
psychologist  than  a  lawyer.  He  was  author  of  several 
works  on  the  science  and  history  of  psychology  which 
were  favorably  received  and  commended  by  such  men  as 
Herbert  Spencer  and  other  high  authorities  in  both 
Europe  and  America.  These  qualities  made  him  a  target 
for  the  sarcasm  of  Sterne,  who,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
thoroughly  the  lawyer.  On  one  occasion  I  remember 
Sterne  asking  me  whether  I  knew  Thompson  was  dis 
sipating.  I  expressed  surprise,  and  Sterne  went  on: 
"  Certainly  he  is,  for  when  he  goes  home  he  works  till  all 
hours  of  the  night  writing  psychology,  and  naturally 
next  day  he  comes  with  an  exhausted  brain  to  his  legal 
work.  He  might  better  go  on  a  spree,  for  one  gets  over 
that.  But  when  one  buries  one's  self  in  such  an  exacting 
science  he  is  lost  for  the  law,  which  is  a  jealous  mistress 
and  will  not  bear  a  rival." 

Under  the  name  of  Sterne,  Straus  &  Thompson  we  had 
a  practice  that  ranged  all  the  way  from  the  collection  of 
debts  to  questions  affecting  street  railways  and  public 
utilities.  Our  old  firm  had  a  business  like  that  of  most 


THE  HEPBURN  COMMITTEE  35 

young  lawyers,  but  Sterne's  practice  was  much  more 
important,  his  field  being  mainly  banking  and  railroads. 
Sterne,  in  fact,  was  rapidly  achieving  a  reputation  as  an 
authority  in  the  State  on  railways  and  railway  legislation. 
At  that  time  there  was  no  Interstate  Commerce  Com 
mission.  Many  New  York  merchants  were  complaining, 
through  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
New  York  Board  of  Trade  and  Transportation,  that  the 
railroads  were  discriminating  and  giving  to  certain  ship 
pers  much  lower  rates  than  to  others,  also  giving  pref 
erence  to  some  in  the  moving  of  freight.  In  1879  the 
Legislature  finally  appointed  a  committee  of  eight  men 
to  investigate  these  charges.  A.  Barton  Hepburn,  mem 
ber  of  the  Assembly  from  St.  Lawrence  County,  was 
made  chairman,  causing  the  committee  always  thereafter 
to  be  referred  to  as  the  Hepburn  Committee.  Sterne 
represented  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Board 
of  Trade  in  this  investigation. 

The  committee  sat  intermittently  for  about  nine 
months.  The  railroads  had  a  brilliant  array  of  legal 
talent,  but  Sterne  elicited  testimony  from  them  which 
proved  the  charges  of  the  merchants.  Sterne  then 
drafted  the  report  of  the  committee,  which  included 
several  recommendations  for  legislation.  It  was  the  first 
impressive  and  well-directed  attempt  to  deal  with  the 
regulation  of  transportation  companies,  and  resulted  in 
the  passage,  in  1880,  of  the  bill  creating  the  first  Board 
of  Railroad  Commissioners.  Later,  in  1887,  the  influence 
of  this  work  was  still  alive  in  connection  with  legislation 
for  the  creation  of  the  Federal  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission.  The  business  of  our  firm  did  not  exactly 
benefit  by  this  public  service  of  Sterne.  As  a  result  of  his 
public  activities  and  settlement  of  litigation,  such  rail 
way  clients  as  we  had  were  lost  to  us  at  about  this  time. 


86         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

At  this  point  in  my  career  I  have  the  fond  recollection 
of  a  dear  and  intimate  friendship,  which  continued  for 
several  years,  with  Joseph  H.  Choate,  of  the  firm  of 
Evarts,  Southmayd  &  Choate.  We  used  to  ride  horse 
back  together  in  the  park  before  breakfast.  This  inti 
macy  naturally  was  very  valuable  to  me.  We  discussed 
all  manner  of  topics,  not  only  affecting  our  profession, 
but  touching  many  public  matters  and  the  philosophy  of 
life  and  living  in  general.  In  these  morning  hours,  with 
the  exhilaration  of  our  ride,  Mr.  Choate  was  always  full 
of  fun  and  good  humor.  He  was  the  most  sought  after 
person  for  addressing  all  important  public  functions,  and 
frequently  he  would  outline  the  substance  of  his  ad 
dresses.  Speaking  one  day  of  the  many  demands  upon 
him  as  a  speaker,  he  remarked  that  he  appeared  to  be 
in  the  fashion  just  then,  but,  like  wall-paper,  fashions 
change,  and  it  was  not  likely  to  last  long.  In  his  case, 
however,  the  fashion  lasted,  even  increased,  until  his 
death  in  1917. 

My  major  law  work  was  in  the  most  exacting  and 
nerve-racking  branch,  the  trying  of  cases.  My  general 
physical  condition,  though  never  robust,  was  none  the 
less  good,  but  I  had  not  learned  what  one  is  more  apt  to 
acquire  later  in  life:  to  conserve  my  energies.  The  result 
was  that  the  wear  and  tear  of  court  work  reduced  my 
weight  to  one  hundred  and  five  pounds.  My  physician 
strongly  advised  me  to  do  less  exacting  work,  and  es 
pecially  to  stop  trying  cases.  As  this  branch  of  the  law 
appealed  to  me  most,  it  was  a  grave  disappointment  to 
have  to  abandon  it.  Rather  than  continue  in  the  profes 
sion  with  such  an  inhibition,  therefore,  I  yielded  to  the 
advice  of  my  father  and  brother  to  join  their  firm. 

I  took  a  vacation  of  several  months,  and  upon  my 


MY  MARRIAGE  37 

return  early  in  1881  I  became  a  member  of  L.  Straus  & 
Sons,  who  had  become  large  manufacturers  and  importers 
of  china  and  glassware.  On  account  of  the  growing  busi 
ness  they  really  needed  my  services,  and  my  transition 
from  professional  to  business  man  was  made  as  acceptable 
and  agreeable  as  possible.  As  was  to  be  expected,  I  con 
tinued  for  some  time  to  long  for  "the  fleshpots  of  Egypt," 
for  I  was  much  attached  to  my  profession.  As  a  compen 
sation,  and  to  satisfy  my  intellectual  longings,  I  devoted 
my  evenings  and  spare  time  to  historical  reading  and 
study. 

Having  embarked  on  a  business  career,  I  reversed  a 
decision  that  I  made  while  practicing  law.  As  a  lawyer  I 
had  taken  very  seriously  and  literally  the  saying  that 
"the  law  is  a  jealous  mistress."  I  was  her  devoted  slave, 
quite  willingly  so,  and  I  determined  never  to  marry.  I 
was  economically  independent  as  a  single  man  and  could 
devote  my  time  to  the  law  for  its  own  sake.  This  I  pre 
ferred  to  do,  as  the  idealist  that  I  was,  rather  than  pursue 
the  law  for  economic  reasons  first  and  for  its  own  sake  as 
much  as  possible  secondarily,  which  I  felt  would  have  to 
be  the  case  if  I  married.  But  as  a  business  man  things 
were  different,  and  I  decided  now  to  marry. 

On  January  22,  1882, 1  became  engaged  to  Sarah,  only 
daughter  of  Louis  and  Hannah  Seller  Lavanburg,  and 
we  were  married  on  the  19th  of  April  following,  at  the 
home  of  her  parents  on  West  Forty-Sixth  Street,  near 
Fifth  Avenue.  At  the  wedding  dinner,  to  which  had 
come  hosts  of  our  friends  and  acquaintances,  Joaquin 
Miller,  poet  of  the  Sierras,  as  he  was  called,  read  a  poem 
which  he  composed  for  the  event.  The  manuscript  I 
think  is  still  in  my  possession. 

In  the  year  of  my  marriage  I  also  made  my  debut  in 


38        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

politics.  I  was  secretary  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
an  independent  group  organized  for  the  reelection  of 
William  R.  Grace  as  mayor  of  New  York.  The  distin 
guished  lawyer,  Frederick  R.  Coudert,  was  chairman  of 
that  committee.  Grace  had  been  a  Tammany  mayor  and 
given  the  city  a  good  business  administration  —  so  good 
and  so  independent  that  Tammany  refused  to  nominate 
him  for  a  second  term.  On  the  independent  ticket  Grace 
had  a  large  Republican  as  well  as  the  independent  Demo 
cratic  support,  and  was  duly  elected. 

I  next  took  part  in  the  Cleveland-Elaine  campaign. 
In  1884  we  formed  in  New  York  City  the  Cleveland  and 
Hendricks  Merchants'  and  Business  Men's  Association, 
of  which  I  was  secretary  of  the  executive  committee,  and 
we  cooperated  with  the  Democratic  National  Com 
mittee,  Senator  Arthur  P.  Gorman,  chairman,  whose 
headquarters  were  at  the  old  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  corner 
of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twenty-Third  Street.  We  organized 
a  parade  and  marched  forty  thousand  strong  from  lower 
Broadway  to  Thirty-Fourth  Street.  It  was  the  first  time 
business  men  had  ever  been  organized  along  political 
lines. 

All  who  remember  this  campaign  know  what  an  excit 
ing  and  close  battle  it  was.  The  dramatic  event  which 
doubtless  put  the  balance  in  Cleveland's  favor  was  the 
speech  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  D.  Burchard,  a  Presby 
terian  minister  of  New  York,  at  Republican  headquarters. 
A  few  days  before  the  election  the  Republican  managers 
had  called  what  they  termed  a  ministers'  meeting,  to 
which  came  some  six  hundred  clergymen  of  all  denomina 
tions  to  meet  Mr.  Blaine.  Dr.  Burchard,  noted  as  an 
orator,  was  to  speak,  followed  by  Mr.  Blaine.  In  con 
cluding  his  address,  Dr.  Burchard  evidently  lost  control 


THE  CLEVELAND-ELAINE  CAMPAIGN    39 

of  his  dignity,  for  he  stigmatized  the  Democratic  Party 
as  the  party  of  "rum,  Romanism,  and  rebellion."  In  the 
face  of  the  great  efforts  the  Republican  Party  had  made, 
with  some  measure  of  success,  to  secure  the  Roman 
Catholic  vote,  this  denunciation  gave  a  big  opportunity 
to  the  Democrats.  Furthermore,  Elaine,  keen  a  politician 
as  he  was,  failed  immediately  to  repudiate  the  remark. 

I  was  present  at  Democratic  headquarters  when  the 
reporter  who  had  been  sent  to  this  meeting  returned. 
Senator  Gorman  asked  him  to  read  from  his  shorthand 
notes,  and  when  he  came  to  the  expression,  "rum,  Ro 
manism,  and  rebellion,"  Gorman  at  once  said,  "Write 
that  out."  The  Democratic  managers  saw  their  chance. 
Quickly  the  whole  country  was  placarded  with  posters 
headed  "R.R.R.,"  with  all  sorts  of  variations  and  addi 
tions  of  the  original  phrase.  In  the  end  it  was  the  New 
York  vote  that  determined  the  victory  for  the  Demo 
crats,  and  doubtless  because  of  the  influence  the  words 
of  Dr.  Burchard  had  had  upon  Roman  Catholic  voters. 

When  the  election  returns  were  in,  Cleveland  had  won 
by  only  1047  votes.  Because  of  the  closeness  of  the  vote 
in  New  York  the  Republicans  did  not  at  first  concede  the 
victory.  Among  the  Democrats,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
was  a  great  feeling  of  bitterness  and  nervous  apprehen 
sion  lest  an  effort  be  made  to  make  it  a  Republican 
victory,  as  was  the  case  in  1876  when  the  uncertain 
returns  were  decided  by  an  electoral  commission,  which-, 
to  the  disappointment  of  many,  made  its  decision  on 
party  lines.  Jay  Gould,  who  controlled  the  telegraph 
lines,  was  accused  by  the  Democrats  of  holding  back 
returns. 

The  Merchants'  and  Business  Men's  Association 
promptly  organized  a  large  meeting  in  the  Academy  oi 
Music,  to  proclaim  and  celebrate  Cleveland's  election, 


40         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

August  Belmont,  Sr.,  as  chairman,  presided,  and  I,  as 
secretary,  presented  the  resolutions.  We  had  invited  the 
most  prominent  speakers  we  could  get,  and  there  were 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Daniel  Dougherty  of  Philadelphia, 
Algernon  S.  Sullivan,  among  others.  I  distinctly  recall 
a  humorous  and  cryptic  remark  of  Beecher's  address 
that  day:  "If  the  chair  is  too  small,  make  it  larger"  — 
referring  to  Cleveland's  avoirdupois  and  the  claim  that  he 
did  not  fit  in  the  presidential  chair.  The  note  of  victory, 
and  the  determination  to  stand  by  that  victory  at  all 
costs,  had  a  reassuring  effect  throughout  the  country. 

When  the  campaign  was  over  I  was  told  by  a  mem 
ber  of  the  National  Committee  that  if  there  was  any 
political  office  to  which  I  aspired,  the  Committee  would 
be  glad  to  further  any  ambition  I  might  have;  but  I 
replied  my  only  wish  was  that  Cleveland  live  up  to  the 
political  principles  which  had  brought  him  the  support 
of  so  many  independent  or  "mugwump"  voters  and  so 
made  possible  his  election. 

During  the  winter  of  1883-84  the  Young  Men's  He 
brew  Association  invited  me  to  speak  in  their  course  of 
lectures.  I  was  to  choose  my  own  subject.  They  had 
hired  Chickering  Hall,  at  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifteenth 
Street,  a  large  lecture  hall  in  those  days,  and  as  great 
importance  was  being  attached  to  the  occasion  I  natu 
rally  put  my  best  foot  forward  in  the  preparation  of  my 
material.  I  chose  as  my  theme  "The  Origin  of  the  Re 
publican  Form  of  Government."  In  it  I  traced  the  rise 
of  democracy,  in  contradistinction  to  monarchy,  from 
the  Hebrew  Commonwealth  as  expounded  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  interpreted  by  the  early  Puritans  of  New 
England,  especially  in  their  "election  sermons,"  which 
were  of  a  politico-religious  character  and  were  delivered 


MY  FIRST  BOOK  41 

annually  before  the  legislatures  of  the  various  New  Eng 
land  colonies. 

There  was  a  huge  audience,  and  the  next  morning  the 
press  gave  very  generous  reports  of  the  address.  It  at 
tracted  the  attention  of  various  ministers  in  Brooklyn, 
and  subsequently  I  was  asked  to  repeat  it  before  the 
Long  Island  Historical  Society,  in  that  city.  There  I  had 
an  amusing  experience.  In  the  course  of  the  talk  I  quoted 
ideas  similar  to  mine  that  had  been  advanced  over  a 
hundred  years  before  by  Thomas  Paine  in  his  "  Common 
Sense,"  and  I  referred  to  the  high  estimates  of  Paine  held 
by  Washington,  Monroe,  Dr.  Rush,  and  others  of  the 
time.  I  refrained  from  expressing  opinions  of  my  own, 
contenting  myself  with  a  reference  to  those  of  the  fathers 
of  the  Republic.  Suddenly,  however,  several  ministers 
left  the  hall,  protesting  that  they  had  not  come  to  hear 
a  eulogy  on  Paine. 

Later  I  developed  this  address,  under  its  original  title, 
and  published  it  in  book  form.  The  first  edition  came 
out  in  1885.  The  appearance  of  a  first  book  is  quite  an 
event  in  one's  life,  especially  when  it  is  well  received 
among  critics  and  by  the  press.  At  any  rate,  it  seemed 
like  a  landmark  in  my  own  life.  Historical  writers  re 
ferred  to  it  as  a  distinct  contribution  to  our  historical 
literature,  and  I  felt  that  so  far  as  the  pen  was  concerned 
I  had  discovered  this  branch  of  writing  to  be  my  forte 
rather  than  poetry.  After  all,  historical  writing  is  no 
less  imaginative  than  poetry.  Without  the  use  of  im 
agination  history  is  lifeless  and  a  dry  record  of  facts 
instead  of  literature. 

A  second  impression  of  the  book  was  issued  in  1887, 
and  in  1901  a  second  and  revised  edition  was  published. 
A  French  edition  had  appeared  simultaneously  in  Paris 
and  Brussels,  1890,  translated  by  M.  Einile  de  Laveleye, 


42         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

eminent  Belgian  publicist  and  professor  at  the  University 
of  Liege,  and  containing  an  introductory  essay  by  him. 
This  essay  was  translated  into  English  and  embodied  in 
the  1901  American  edition.  Since  then  additional  im 
pressions  of  this  revised  edition  have  appeared.  I  might 
mention  that  on  the  strength  of  this  book  I  was  admitted 
to  membership  in  the  Authors'  Club,  in  1888. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  following  the  original  publica 
tion  of  my  first  book  I  chanced  to  meet  Senator  Gorman 
of  Maryland  in  the  Palmer  House,  Chicago,  where  we 
both  happened  to  be  stopping  —  he  on  his  return  from 
a  trip  to  the  Far  West,  and  I  on  an  important  business 
errand.  He  told  me  he  and  his  son  had  read  my  book  on 
their  trip,  and  that  he  had  not  in  a  long  time  read  a  book 
with  so  much  valuable  information  in  it  and  giving  such 
a  clear  view  of  the  sources  and  early  growth  of  our  form 
of  government.  We  naturally  talked  of  matters  political, 
and  he  reminded  me  of  an  earlier  conversation  he  had  had 
with  me  since  Cleveland's  election,  stating  that  Mr.  Cox 
—  S.  S.  Cox  —  our  minister  to  Turkey,  had  or  was  about 
to  resign,  and  that  he  would  like  to  recommend  me  to 
President  Cleveland  for  appointment  in  Cox's  place.  He 
thought  at  the  same  time  it  might  enable  me  to  make 
further  studies  along  the  lines  of  my  book. 

The  idea  was  a  complete  surprise  to  me.  As  I  have 
mentioned,  I  had  no  thought  of  entering  public  life.  My 
political  activities  had  been  limited  to  the  part  I  took  in 
the  reelection  of  Mayor  Grace  and  the  Cleveland-Elaine; 
campaign.  Even  had  I  been  ambitious  for  a  political 
position  I  should  never  have  ventured  application  for  a 
diplomatic  post,  for  I  had  never  given  much  attention  to 
our  foreign  relations.  Besides,  I  had  been  in  business  only 
a  few  years,  I  was  married  and  had  two  small  daughters; 


NOMINATED  MINISTER  TO  TURKEY     43 

everything  considered,  I  felt  I  could  not  afford  to  leave 
my  affairs  to  go  abroad. 

Upon  returning  to  New  York  I  conferred  with  my 
father  and  brothers,  and  their  attitude  changed  my  views 
somewhat.  They  generously  offered  to  see  that  my  inter 
ests  should  not  suffer,  and  gave  me  every  encouragement 
to  entertain  Senator  Gorman's  suggestion.  I  could  not 
possibly  have  further  considered  the  subject  without  this 
generosity  on  their  part.  My  obligations  to  my  family 
did  not  permit  the  expenditure  of  several  times  my  salary, 
required  in  a  position  of  this  kind.  The  salary  of  minister 
to  Turkey  had  been  reduced  to  seven  thousand  five  hun 
dred  dollars,  though  it  was  subsequently  restored  to  ten 
thousand;  and  in  order  to  live  properly  he  had  to  rent  a 
winter  house  in  the  capital  and  a  summer  house  outside, 
or  live  in  hotels  as  Mr.  Cox,  and  his  predecessor,  General 
Lew  Wallace,  did.  General  Wallace  was  restricted  to  his 
salary  and  felt  compelled  to  decline  the  invitations  of  his 
colleagues  because  he  was  not  in  position  to  reciprocate. 
(His  "Ben  Hur,"  by  the  way,  he  had  written  before  his 
sojourn  in  the  East,  and  not  afterward  as  is  often  sup 
posed.) 

Senator  Gorman  was  not  finally  able  to  make  the 
recommendation  he  had  proposed.  His  relations  with 
the  President  became  strained,  so  that  recommendations 
for  appointments  coming  from  him  were  not  regarded 
with  favor  by  Cleveland.  Gorman  told  me  as  much  when 
we  met  subsequently,  but  advised  me  to  use  such  influ 
ence  as  I  might  command  in  other  directions. 

I  presently  spoke  of  it  to  an  old  friend  of  my  days  in 
the  law,  B.  Franklin  Einstein,  who  was  counsel  for  the 
"New  York  Times"  and  the  personal  adviser  of  George 
Jones,  its  proprietor.  Einstein  suggested  that  I  speak 
with  Jones  about  it,  and  this  I  did.  Jones  encouraged 


44         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

me  and  said  he  would  be  glad  to  help.  He  said  he  had 
read  my  book  and  felt  sure  I  would  give  a  good  account 
of  myself  and  be  a  credit  to  the  administration;  that  he 
had  never  asked  any  favor  of  the  administration  and  felt 
justified  in  asking  Cleveland  to  make  the  appointment. 
The  "Times"  had  been  an  independent  Republican 
paper,  but  in  the  campaign  of  1884  it  came  out  for  Cleve 
land. 

I  also  conferred  with  Carl  Schurz,  with  whom  I  stood 
on  intimate  terms,  and  with  John  Foord,  another  friend. 
In  the  early  eighties  we  used  to  have  a  lunch  club  that 
met  about  once  in  two  weeks  at  a  little  French  restaurant, 
August  Sieghortner's,  at  32  Lafayette  Place,  now  Lafa 
yette  Street,  in  a  house  that  had  been  a  former  residence 
of  one  of  the  Astors.  We  used  to  discuss  various  political 
and  reform  matters  —  the  "mugwump"  movement,  the 
Cleveland  campaigns,  or  what  not.  There  were  ten  or 
twelve  of  us,  and  Carl  Schurz  was  one;  the  late  Charles  R. 
Miller,  who  was  for  many  years  the  leading  editorial 
writer  of  the  "Times,"  was  another;  and  John  Foord, 
whose  death  by  accident  occurred  in  Washington  only 
a  few  days  ago  as  I  write,  was  another.  Foord  was  then 
editor-in-chief  of  the  "  Times."  He  took  up  my  appoint 
ment  with  both  President  Cleveland  and  Secretary  of 
State  Bayard.  Schurz  encouraged  me  and  said  he  would 
speak  to  Oswald  Ottendorfer  about  having  me  appointed. 
Ottendorfer,  proprietor  of  the  "New  Yorker  Staats- 
zeitung,"  was  a  client  of  our  law  firm  and  knew  me 
well.  Subsequently  I  saw  him  and  he  wrote  to  Cleve 
land  strongly  recommending  the  appointment. 

Cleveland  was  favorably  enough  impressed,  but  he 
hesitated.  He  said  our  chief  concern  in  Turkey  was  the 
protection  of  American  missionary  interests,  and  he 
would  not  like  to  appoint  any  one  to  this  particular 


NOMINATED  MINISTER  TO  TURKEY     45 

mission  who  might  be  objected  to  by  the  two  principal 
missionary  bodies  —  the  American  Board  of  Commis 
sioners  for  Foreign  Missions  and  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Missions. 

It  happened  that  on  a  return  trip  from  Washington 
about  this  time  my  brother  Isidor  met  A.  S.  Barnes, 
prominent  textbook  publisher  and  a  member  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions, 
to  whom  also  I  was  quite  well  known.  He  had  been  in 
frequent  consultation  with  our  law  firm  when  we  rep 
resented  the  City  of  Brooklyn  in  its  suit  against  the 
Atlantic  Avenue  Railroad  to  compel  the  road  to  sink 
its  tracks,  in  which  suit,  as  one  of  Brooklyn's  public- 
spirited  citizens,  he  was  much  interested.  He  was  sym 
pathetic  toward  me  and  brought  the  subject  of  my  ap 
pointment  before  his  missionary  board,  with  the  result 
that  its  Prudential  Committee  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
President  expressing  fullest  approval  of  my  appoint 
ment,  suggesting  only  that  I  be  asked  not  to  hold  recep 
tions  on  the  Sabbath,  as  one  of  my  predecessors  had  done 
to  the  great  disapproval  of  the  missionaries  and  all 
Protestant  Christians  in  Constantinople.  Even  with 
out  this  intimation  I  would  quite  naturally  have  re 
frained  from  offending  the  religious  sensibilities  of  my 
nationals  at  that  post. 

The  representatives  of  all  the  Protestant  churches 
who  had  interests  in  Turkey  were  most  generous  in 
favoring  the  appointment  when  they  learned  that  I  was 
being  considered  for  that  mission.  The  most  admired 
and  best  beloved  American  preacher  of  his  time,  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  of  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn,  heard  of 
it  through  Mr.  O.  A.  Gager,  one  of  the  trustees  of  his 
church;  also  that  there  was  some  diffidence  about  my 
actual  selection  because  of  my  religion.  He  immediately 


46        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

wrote  the  President  a  beautiful  and  characteristic  letter, 
urging  my  appointment.  The  original  of  this  letter,  now 
in  my  possession,  was  given  to  me  by  Governor  Porter, 
first  assistant  Secretary  of  State. 

With  my  wife  I  had  gone  to  Atlantic  City  for  a  few 
days,  to  recuperate  from  a  cold,  when  on  March  24, 1887, 
I  received  telegrams  from  friends  all  over  the  country 
congratulating  me  on  my  appointment  as  minister  to 
Turkey.  The  papers  of  the  day  announced  it,  and  the 
"New  York  Times"  published  the  Beecher  letter  just 
referred  to. 

To  the  press  of  the  country  my  appointment  was  of 
added  interest  because  of  the  Keiley  incident  of  two  years 
before.  A.  M.  Keiley,  of  Virginia,  was  nominated  by  Cleve 
land  as  minister  to  Austria-Hungary,  but  objected  to  by 
that  country  because  Mrs.  Keiley,  being  of  Jewish  parent 
age,  was  persona  non  grata.  As  a  matter  of  fact  this 
excuse  for  the  rejection  of  Keiley  was  supposedly  made 
because  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  thought  it 
might  be  acceptable  to  us  in  lieu  of  the  truth. 

The  real  reason  lay  much  deeper.  Keiley  had  earlier 
been  nominated  as  minister  to  Italy.  The  Italian  Govern 
ment,  through  its  representative  at  Washington,  made 
known  to  our  Department  of  State  that  Keiley  would  be 
persona  non  grata  because  it  was  remembered  that  in 
1870  he  had  made  a  public  speech  in  Richmond  violently 
denouncing  King  Victor  Emmanuel  for  his  treatment  of 
the  Pope.  The  nomination  was  therefore  withdrawn.  And 
when  a  few  months  later  Keiley  was  appointed  minister 
to  Austria-Hungary,  that  country,  being  a  member  with 
Italy  in  the  Triple  Alliance,  did  not  want  to  run  the  risk 
of  displeasing  Italy  by  accepting  a  representative  not 
satisfactory  to  her;  but  not  wishing  to  admit  this,  based 
its  excuse  on  religious  grounds. 


July  12,  1887 
BROOKLYN,  N.Y. 
GROVER  CLEVELAND 

Dear  Mr.  President 

Some  of  our  best  citizens  are  solicitous  for  the  appointment  of  Oscar 
Straus,  as  Minister  to  Turkey.  Of  his  fitness  there  is  a  general  consent 
that  he  is  personally,  and  in  attainments,  eminently  excellent. 

But  I  am  interested  in  another  quality  —  the  fact  that  he  is  a  Hebrew. 
The  bitter  prejudice  against  Jews,  which  obtains  in  many  parts  of  Europe, 
ought  not  to  receive  any  countenance  in  America.  It  is  because  he  is 'a  Jew 
that  I  would  urge  his  appointment  as  a  fit  recognition  of  this  remarkable 
people,  who  are  becoming  large  contributors  to  American  prosperity,  and 
whose  intelligence,  morality,  and  large  liberality  in  all  public  measures  for 
the  welfare  of  society,  deserve  &  should  receive  from  the  hands  of  our  gov 
ernment  some  such  recognition. 

Is  it  not,  also,  a  duty  to  set  forth,  in  this  quiet,  but  effectual  method,  the 
genius  of  American  government?  —  which  has  under  its  fostering  care 
people  of  all  civilized  nations,  and  which  treats  them  without  regard  to 
civil,  religious,  or  race  peculiarities  as  common  citizens  ?  We  send  Danes 
to  Denmark,  Germans  to  Germany.  We  reject  no  man  because  he  is  a 
Frenchman.  Why  should  we  not  make  a  crowning  testimony  to  the  genius 
of  our  people,  by  sending  a  Hebrew  to  Turkey  ?  The  ignorance  &  super 
stition  of  mediaeval  Europe  may  account  for  the  prejudices  of  that  dark  age. 
But  how  a  Christian  in  our  day,  can  turn  from  a  Jew,  I  cannot  imagine. 
Christianity  itself  suckled  at  the  bosom  of  Judaism.  Our  roots  are  in  the 
Old  Testament.  We  are  Jews  ourselves  gone  to  blossom  &  fruit.  Christian 
ity  is  Judaism  in  evolution,  and  it  would  seem  strange  for  the  seed  to  turn 
against  the  stock  on  which  it  was  grown. 

HENRY  WARD  BEECHER 





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THE  KEILEY  INCIDENT  47 

This  so  incensed  our  Administration  that  Secretary 
Bayard  rebuked  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  with 
the  statement: 

It  is  not  within  the  power  of  the  President  nor  of  the  Con 
gress,  nor  of  any  judicial  tribunal  in  the  United  States,  to  take 
or  even  hear  testimony,  or  in  any  mode  to  inquire  into  or 
decide  upon  the  religious  belief  of  any  official,  and  the  proposi 
tion  to  allow  this  to  be  done  by  any  foreign  Government  is 
necessarily  and  a  fortiori  inadmissible. 

And  Mr.  Cleveland  made  reference  to  the  episode  in  his 
First  Annual  Message  to  Congress: 

The  reasons  advanced  were  such  as  could  not  be  acquiesced 
in,  without  violation  of  my  oath  of  office  and  the  precepts  of 
the  Constitution,  since  they  necessarily  involved  a  limitation 
in  favor  of  a  foreign  government  upon  the  right  of  selection 
by  the  Executive,  and  required  such  an  application  of  a  reli 
gious  test  as  a  qualification  for  office  under  the  United  States 
as  would  have  resulted  in  the  practical  disfranchisement  of  a 
large  class  of  our  citizens  and  the  abandonment  of  a  vital  prin 
ciple  of  our  Government. 

These  statements  contain  a  clear  exposition  of  one  of 
the  fundamental  principles  of  our  laws  and  system  of 
government;  they  form  one  of  the  most  illuminating  and 
inspiring  chapters  of  our  diplomatic  literature.  Following 
the  Keiley  incident,  my  appointment  was  a  silent  but 
effective  protest  against  such  illiberal  views  as  those 
expressed  by  Austria-Hungary;  and  to  me  personally  it 
meant  something  to  be  sent  as  the  representative  of  my 
country  to  the  power  whose  dominion  extended  over  the 
land  that  cradled  my  race,  Palestine. 

Leaving  Atlantic  City,  we  soon  proceeded  to  Washing 
ton,  where  I  called  on  Secretary  Bayard,  who  received 
me  with  characteristic  cordiality  and  referred  me  to 
John  Bassett  Moore,  now  our  famous  authority  on  inter 
national  law,  compiler  of  the  International  Law  Digest, 


48         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

American  judge  of  the  Court  of  International  Justice 
by  vote  of  the  Council  and  Assembly  of  the  League  of 
Nations.  At  the  time  I  met  him,  thirty-five  years  ago, 
he  was  third  assistant  Secretary  of  State,  and  I  could  not 
have  wished  for  a  better  instructor  in  the  intricate  mat 
ters  that  involved  our  relations  with  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
Alvey  A.  Adee,  veteran  of  our  Foreign  Office,  then  as 
now  the  second  assistant  Secretary  of  State,  was  another 
man  who  gave  me  most  helpful  advice.  His  encyclopaedic 
knowledge  of  our  foreign  relations  for  more  than  forty 
years  is  remarkable,  and  our  diplomatic  appointees  for 
years  have  been  indebted  to  him  for  much  helpful  guid 
ance. 

Later  in  the  day  we  called  on  the  President.  Our  con 
versation  during  this  call  was  purely  of  a  general  nature, 
and  as  I  was  leaving  Mr.  Cleveland  expressed  pleasure  at 
my  promptness  in  calling  and  hoped  that  I  would  start 
for  Turkey  as  soon  as  personal  convenience  permitted. 
When  I  told  him  I  hoped  to  sail  at  the  end  of  a  week, 
he  answered,  "That  is  businesslike;  I  like  that,"  and  he 
asked  me  to  call  again  before  leaving  Washington. 

Two  days  later,  by  appointment  of  Colonel  Lamont, 
the  President's  secretary,  Mrs.  Straus  and  I,  accompanied 
by  brother  Isidor  and  E.  G.  Dunnell,  "New  York  Times" 
correspondent,  called  on  Mrs.  Cleveland  in  the  Green 
Room  of  the  White  House.  I  vividly  recall  this  visit. 
Mrs.  Cleveland  came  into  the  room  with  a  sprightly  and 
unceremonious  walk,  very  friendly,  with  charm  of  man 
ner  and  a  sufficient  familiarity  to  put  us  entirely  at  our 
ease.  She  was  a  very  handsome  woman,  with  remarkable 
sweetness  of  expression,  and  her  appearance  symbolized 
beauty  and  simplicity. 

What  most  impressed  me  about  the  Clevelands,  after 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  CLEVELAND       49 

these  two  visits,  was  the  simple,  unassuming  manner 
that  was  so  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  our  laws  and  the 
democracy  of  our  institutions.  Verily,  I  thought  in  the 
words  of  Cleveland  himself,  "a  public  office  is  a  public 
trust,"  and  while  administering  office  we  are  indeed 
servants  of  the  people. 

Before  leaving  Washington  we  again  called  on  the 
President  as  agreed.  His  entire  conversation  and  atti 
tude  showed  satisfaction  with  my  appointment.  He 
said  he  understood  the  missionaries  were  doing  good 
work,  and  he  felt  sure  from  what  he  had  learned  of  me 
that  they  would  receive  impartial  and  just  treatment  at 
my  hands.  He  commented  on  the  fact  that  the  press  of 
the  country  had  been  so  unanimously  in  favor  of  my 
appointment.  "I  wished  they  would  go  for  you  a  little; 
I  have  something  to  give  them,"  he  said.  From  Mr. 
Dunnell  later  I  learned  the  meaning  of  this  remark.  He 
had  received  a  letter  from  the  Prudential  Committee  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis 
sions,  highly  approving  of  his  appointing  me  as  minister 
to  Turkey  and  endorsing  me  of  their  own  accord  in  un 
qualified  terms.  This  letter  he  was  holding  to  give  to  the 
press  should  any  unfavorable  comment  be  made  because 
a  member  of  the  Hebrew  race  was  being  sent  to  a  post 
where  the  Christian  mission  interests  were  so  large.  Mr. 
Cleveland's  parting  remark  to  me  was:  "I  know  you  will 
do  well;  I  have  no  trepidation  —  none  at  all." 

On  Saturday,  April  9th,  at  6  A.M.,  we  —  my  wife, 
Aline,  the  younger  of  our  little  daughters,  and  myself  — 
sailed  out  of  the  harbor  on  the  S.S.  Aurania.  My  one 
prayer  in  bidding  farewell  to  my  home  was  that  I  might 
find  no  vacant  seat  at  my  table  upon  my  return,  and  that 
I  might  discharge  my  high  trust  with  credit  and  honor. 
For  this  no  sacrifice  would  be  too  great. 


CHAPTER  III 
ENTERING  DIPLOMACY 

At  sea  —  Our  arrival  in  London  —  Concerning  George  Eliot  and  Lewes  — 
At  the  banking  house  of  Baron  de  Rothschild  —  In  Paris  —  Boulanger's 
Napoleonic  dreams;  his  suicide  —  Josef  Hofmann  as  a  boy  pianist  —  The 
artist  who  painted  "Christ  before  Pilate";  an  extraordinary  wife  —  Distin 
guished  hosts  and  rich  cooking  —  Vienna  and  the  Balkans  —  Thoughts  on 
passing  through  the  Bosphorus  —  Constantinople,  the  city  of  picturesque 
dirt  —  Many  delays  obstruct  my  audience  with  the  Sultan  —  The  fast  of 
Kamazan  —  Diplomatic  garden  parties  —  An  ambassador's  £300  Circassian 
slave-wife  —  The  Sultan  says  his  prayers  —  Advice  from  a  seasoned  diplomat 
—  My  address  at  Robert  College  commencement  —  In  the  Sultan's  Palace. 

OUR  voyage  was  not  altogether  a  light  one.  We  had 
found  it  expedient  to  leave  Mildred,  our  elder  daughter, 
then  four  years  old,  with  her  Grandma  Lavanburg;  and 
while  she  was  in  excellent  hands  my  wife  was  naturally 
heavy-hearted  at  the  thought  of  traveling  so  far  and  for 
so  long  without  her.  The  weather  on  board  ship  was  for 
the  most  part  stormy.  Our  little  Aline  and  her  nurse 
were  so  seasick  that  the  child  resented  being  on  board 
with  all  the  force  of  age  three.  "Mama,  this  ship  is  no 
body's  home;  why  did  you  bring  me  here?  I  shall  write 
sister  Milly  never  to  go  on  the  ocean,"  she  declared  re- 
belliously. 

Having  reached  London,  however,  things  went  more 
pleasantly.  Our  minister  there  at  the  time  —  we  did  not 
yet  appoint  ambassadors  —  was  Edward  J.  Phelps,  for 
many  years  Professor  of  International  Law  at  Yale,  a 
scholarly  gentleman.  I  called  on  him  almost  immediately 
on  my  arrival,  and  subsequently  Mrs.  Straus  and  I  dined 
at  the  legation  to  meet  Rustem  Pasha,  Turkish  ambas 
sador,  veteran  diplomat  who  had  been  in  the  service  for 
thirty-three  years  and  was  about  twice  as  old.  He  was 
leading  Turkish  representative  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin 


IN  LONDON  51 

in  1878,  following  the  Russo-Turkish  War.  He  referred 
to  the  various  questions  pending  between  his  Government 
and  mine  —  the  interpretation  of  Article  4  of  the  Treaty 
of  1830,  signed  only  in  Turkish;  the  proposed  treaty  of 
1874,  negotiated  by  Minister  Boker  and  not  confirmed 
by  the  Senate,  concerning  naturalized  citizens  of  the 
United  States  returning  to  Turkey;  missionary  matters; 
our  refusal  to  negotiate  a  treaty  for  the  extradition  of 
criminals.  I  had  informed  myself  regarding  all  of  these, 
but  I  deemed  it  wise  not  to  discuss  them  in  detail;  rather 
I  chose  to  be  the  listener  and  draw  him  out,  assuring  him 
that  when  I  arrived  at  my  post  all  these  subjects  would 
have  my  very  best  attention.  He  was  particularly  con 
cerned  with  the  treaty  for  the  extradition  of  criminals, 
but  the  so-called  criminals  that  came  to  the  United  States 
at  that  period,  especially  from  Russia  and  Turkey,  were 
with  rare  exception  political  refugees,  and  it  is  provided 
in  most  of  our  extradition  treaties  that  political  offenders 
are  not  to  be  delivered  up. 

We  remained  in  London  about  ten  days,  calling  on  a 
number  of  interesting  people.  We  spent  one  pleasant 
evening  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  John  Chapman,  of  the  "West 
minster  Review."  My  article  on  "The  Development  of 
Religious  Liberty  in  America"  was  appearing  in  a  current 
number  of  the  "Review."  The  Chapmans  were  good 
triends  of  George  Eliot  and  Professor  Lewes.  In  fact,  the 
novelist  and  the  professor  first  met  at  the  Chapman 
home.  Dr.  Chapman  also  told  me  he  was  the  one  who 
first  employed  George  Eliot  in  literary  work.  He  became 
editor  of  the  "Review"  in  1851  and  engaged  her  as  as 
sociate  editor.  When  George  Eliot  resigned,  Mrs.  Chap 
man  became  the  associate  editor.  With  us  that  evening, 
too,  was  Harold  Frederic,  London  correspondent  of  the 
"New  York  Times"  and  a  novelist  of  some  promise. 


62         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

From  Messrs.  J.  &  W.  Seligman  of  New  York  I  had 
received  a  letter  to  the  Seligman  banking  house  in  Lon 
don,  at  3  Angel  Court.  Mr.  Isaac  Seligman  invited  us  to 
dine  en  famille,  and  arranged  for  me  to  call  at  Messrs. 
N.  M.  Rothschild  &  Sons',  where  I  was  very  pleasantly 
received  by  Baron  Alfred  Charles  de  Rothschild,  who 
showed  me  through  his  magnificent  banking  establish 
ment  and  offered  to  send  me  a  letter  to  the  Paris  Roths 
child  firm.  The  Baron  was  then  about  forty-four  years 
old,  very  agreeable,  a  polished  gentleman  of  the  best 
Jewish  type. 

In  Paris,  our  next  stopping-place,  we  also  had  a  very 
interesting  time.  Of  course  we  called  on  our  minister, 
Robert  M.  McLane,  then  seventy-four  years  old,  but 
looking  sixty.  He  was  distinctly  of  the  old  school,  with 
all  the  grace  of  manner,  combined  with  ability  and  wide 
experience  in  public  service  —  an  excellent  representative 
who  was  esteemed  by  the  French  people  quite  as  highly  as 
by  our  own  citizens  in  France.  I  speak  of  this  especially 
because  in  capitals  like  Paris  it  is  not  an  easy  task  to 
please  both  elements. 

At  dinner  one  evening  in  the  home  of  my  friend 
Adolphe  Salmon,  an  American  merchant  residing  in 
Paris,  we  met  Count  Dillon  and  his  wife,  most  affable 
people  to  whom  we  felt  ourselves  immediately  attracted. 
The  Count  was  a  thorough  Royalist,  had  been  for  many 
years  in  the  army.  At  this  time  he  was  managing  director 
of  the  Mackay-Bennett  Cable  Company  and  the  leader 
of  a  movement,  really  anti-Republican  intrigue,  designed 
to  put  General  Boulanger,  Minister  of  War,  at  the  head 
of  the  State.  The  Count  was  a  close  personal  friend  and 
schoolmate  of  Boulanger,  then  the  most  extolled  man  in 
all  France.  The  Count  suggested  that  he  arrange  a 


GENERAL  BOULANGER  53 

luncheon  or  dinner  to  have  us  meet  the  General,  if  that 
was  agreeable  to  us,  for  he  felt  sure  the  General  would 
be  pleased. 

Consequently  a  few  days  later  we  lunched  at  Count 
Dillon's  beautiful  villa  some  thirty  minutes  outside  of 
Paris.  It  was  an  intimate  two-hour  luncheon  party,  just 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adolphe  Salmon,  the  Count  and  Countess 
Dillon,  General  Boulanger,  Mrs.  Straus,  and  myself. 
Boulanger  was  a  young-looking  man  for  his  fifty  years,  of 
medium  height  and  weight,  wearing  a  closely  trimmed 
beard;  rather  Anglo- American  than  French  in  appearance, 
unassuming,  of  pleasant  expression,  and  probably  at  the 
height  of  his  power.  Five  years  before  he  had  been  Di 
rector  of  Infantry  in  the  War  Office  and  made  himself 
very  popular  as  a  military  reformer.  In  1886,  under  the 
eegis  of  Clemenceau  and  the  Radical  Party  which  brought 
Freycinet  into  power,  Boulanger  was  made  Minister  of 
War.  He  was  noted  for  his  fire-eating  attitude  toward 
Germany  in  connection  with  the  Schnaebele  frontier  in 
cident,  and  because  of  this  was  hailed  as  the  man  destined 
to  give  France  her  revenge  for  the  disasters  of  1870.  In 
fact,  the  masses  looked  upon  him  as  a  second  Napoleon, 
"the  man  on  horseback,"  and  his  picture  on  horseback 
was  displayed  in  countless  shop  windows. 

At  our  luncheon  party  he  entertained  us  with  many  an 
interesting  anecdote,  and  I  particularly  recall  his  telling 
of  coming  to  the  Yorktown  Centennial  Celebration  and 
traveling  as  far  as  the  Pacific  Coast  in  company  with 
General  Sherman  to  see  our  fortifications.  "I  was  asked 
what  I  thought  of  your  American  fortifications  ["You 
know  what  antiquated  and  insignificant  things  they  are," 
in  an  aside  to  Mrs.  Straus],  and  I  praised  them  and  said 
I  thought  they  were  splendid,  that  I  had  never  seen  any 
better  ones  because  "  —  and  here  his  eyes  twinkled  —  "no 


54        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

country  has  such  nice  ditches  in  front  of  its  fortifications." 
He  meant,  of  course,  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific. 

When  the  champagne  was  being  drunk  and  toasts  were 
in  order  I  turned  to  the  General,  after  drinking  to  the 
health  of  the  company,  and  said:  "May  you  administer 
the  War  Department  so  successfully  that  posterity  will 
know  you  as  the  great  preserver  of  peace."  To  this  he 
responded  that  for  fifteen  years  France  had  always  been 
on  the  defensive  and  permitted  insults  rather  than  take 
offense,  but  that  the  time  had  come  when  she  could  no 
longer  do  so  and  must  be  ready  for  the  offensive.  He 
evidently  had  in  mind  that  war  was  imminent.  At  a  later 
meeting  he  asked  me  whether,  in  case  of  war,  I  would  be 
willing  to  take  charge  of  French  interests  in  Turkey.  I 
told  him  that  while  of  course  it  would  be  agreeable  to 
me  personally,  such  action  could  be  taken  only  under  the 
authority  of  my  government,  which  authority  I  would 
have  to  obtain  before  giving  an  official  answer. 

The  subsequent  meteoric  career  of  Boulanger  is  a 
matter  of  history.  For  two  years  more  his  personality 
was  one  of  the  dominating  factors  of  French  politics.  I 
remember  writing  from  Constantinople  early  in  1889: 
"The  most  menacing  condition  exists  in  France,  where,  I 
am  of  opinion,  Boulanger  will  gain  the  presidency  before 
many  months  and  from  that  time  perhaps  try  to  tread 
in  the  footprints  of  his  Napoleonic  ideal.  If  so  —  alas, 
poor  France,  and  alas  the  peace  of  Europe!"  He  had 
become  an  open  menace  to  the  republic;  and  when  Con- 
stans  was  Minister  of  the  Interior  a  prosecution  was 
instituted  against  Boulanger  and  a  warrant  signed  for  his 
arrest.  He  fled  from  Paris  and  was  afterward  tried  and 
condemned  in  absentia  for  treason.  In  1891  he  committed 
suicide  on  the  grave  of  his  mistress  in  a  cemetery  at 
Brussels. 


THE  ARTIST,  MUNKACSY  55 

We  dined,  on  another  evening  in  Paris,  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  William  Seligman,  of  the  banking  firm  of  Seligman 
Freres,  the  Paris  branch  of  J.  &  W.  Seligman  of  New 
York  and  of  the  London  Seligman  establishment.  This 
dinner  was  a  very  large  and  elaborate  affair,  with  many 
distinguished  guests  present.  After  dinner  we  were  en 
tertained  by  the  budding  genius  of  Josef  Hofmann,  then 
ten  or  eleven  years  old. 

The  noted  Hungarian,  Munkacsy,  painter  of  "Last 
Day  of  a  Condemned  Man,"  "Christ  before  Pilate," 
"Christ  on  Calvary,"  and  other  celebrated  works,  was 
also  there  with  his  wife.  As  a  couple  they  presented  a 
striking  contrast  indeed.  He  was  a  silent  man,  talking 
very  little  and  haltingly;  he  impressed  one  as  a  refined 
artisan  of  some  sort,  perhaps  a  carpenter.  He  was  a  large 
man  of  about  five  feet  ten  in  height,  with  bushy  hair 
combed  up,  bushy  beard  and  mustache,  and  small  eyes 
which  he  screwed  up  to  almost  nothing  when  observing 
something.  His  wife,  on  the  other  hand,  was  as  coarse- 
looking  a  woman  as  one  might  discover,  with  a  loud, 
raucous,  almost  masculine  voice  which,  like  a  saw  in 
action,  rose  above  every  other  sound.  However,  I  have 
observed  that  these  contraries  in  personality  in  couples 
often  make  for  happiness. 

The  artist  seemed  to  take  a  keen  interest  in  Mrs. 
Straus.  He  quite  embarrassed  her  by  his  constant  star 
ing,  and  after  dinner  sought  an  introduction  and  sat  next 
to  her.  Her  plain  hair-dress,  smoothly  brushed  back  and 
rolled  in  a  coil  behind,  fascinated  him.  He  remarked  how 
natural  and  becoming  it  was  and  wanted  to  know  whether 
she  always  wore  it  that  way;  he  wondered  whether  it 
would  be  as  becoming  any  other  way.  He  wanted  to 
know  how  long  we  should  remain  in  Paris  and  expressed 
regret  when  told  we  were  leaving  in  three  or  four  days. 


56         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Mrs.  Straus  felt  he  had  studied  her  head  long  enough 
to  paint  it  from  memory.  And  who  knows,  perhaps 
he  has  used  it  in  some  painting  that  we  have  not  yet  dis 
covered  ! 

Another  memorable  dinner  was  at  the  home  of  Eli 
Lazard,  of  Lazard  Freres,  bankers,  where  we  met  Judge 
Wilson  and  daughters,  of  Cincinnati.  All  of  these  hospi 
talities  were  very  pleasant,  but  personally  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  escape  them,  for  the  late  hours,  together 
with  the  rich  cooking  of  Paris,  were  not  in  accord  with 
my  quiet  habits  and  simple  tastes  in  food  and  drink. 

In  Vienna  I  called  on  our  consul-general,  Edmund 
Jussen,  whose  wife  was  the  sister  of  my  esteemed  friend 
Carl  Schurz,  which  fact  really  prompted  me  to  make  the 
call.  Jussen  himself  was  not  very  admirable.  He  had 
much  of  the  arrogance  of  a  German  official,  so  out  of 
place  in  an  American  representative.  However,  during 
our  sojourn  in  the  city  he  and  his  wife  exchanged  several 
visits  with  us.  Mrs.  Jussen  did  not  much  resemble  her 
distinguished  brother,  except  for  an  expression  about  the 
eyes.  She  was  a  very  amiable  woman  with  a  good  face. 
She  told  me  much  of  her  brother's  childhood  and  school 
years  —  how  he  had  to  struggle  hard  for  his  education. 
Their  father  was  a  small  shopkeeper,  but  no  business  man, 
and  was  never  able  to  make  money.  Carl  did  not  earn 
money,  but  always  applied  himself  diligently.  This  and 
much  more  that  has  since  been  published  about  Schurz 
interested  me  greatly,  of  course. 

We  continued  our  journey  to  Varna  on  the  Black  Sea, 
there  to  take  the  steamer  for  Constantinople.  In  those 
days  there  was  no  railway  connection  with  Constanti 
nople.  The  Oriental  Express  went  only  to  Varna,  by  way 
of  Bucharest.  On  that  particular  part  of  our  journey  we 
got  our  first  glimpses  of  the  picturesque  costumes  of  the 


VIENNA  AND  THE  BALKANS  57 

Balkan  district,  especially  those  of  the  men  with  their 
bare  legs  and  flying  shirts. 

The  trip  from  Varna  to  Constantinople  was  beautiful 
and  inspiring.  We  boarded  the  boat  at  about  four  in  the 
afternoon  and  retired  early  so  as  to  be  up  by  five  or  six 
next  morning,  when  we  passed  through  the  Bosphorus, 
round  which  clusters  so  much  of  classical  memory.  I 
suddenly  realized  how  much  of  my  Homer  I  had  for 
gotten  —  the  Homer  on  whom  I  had  spent  years  of  hard 
study.  However,  most  of  us  meet  so  many  new  subjects 
that  have  a  more  direct  relation  to  our  surroundings  that 
it  is  next  to  impossible  to  get  that  "elegant  leisure" 
necessary  for  a  continued  interest  in  the  classics. 

The  effect  of  the  trip  through  the  Bosphorus  is  quite 
like  a  dream.  The  high  coast  on  both  sides  is  covered 
with  green,  with  here  and  there  a  house  or  some  large 
huts;  on  one  side  is  Europe  and  on  the  other  side  Asia, 
looking  very  much  alike,  bathed  by  the  same  sunshine, 
peaceful. 

We  sailed  past  Buyukdereh,  Therapia,  the  summer 
residence  of  most  of  the  diplomats,  about  twelve  miles 
from  Constantinople,  where  the  English,  French,  Aus 
trian,  and  Russian  embassies  had  magnificent  palaces  and 
the  Germans  were  engaged  in  building;  on  past  the  lovely 
old  towers  of  Roumeli-Hissar,  built  eight  hundred  years 
before,  when  first  the  Turks  set  foot  in  Europe,  and  back 
of  this  the  tower  of  Robert  College. 

Suddenly  my  ever-smiling  and  happy  wife  spied  a 
launch  flying  a  large  United  States  flag  at  the  stem.  "  It 's 
our  launch!"  And  sure  enough,  when  we  waved  our 
handkerchiefs  we  discovered  the  members  of  my  official 
family,  who  had  come  in  the  legation  launch  to  meet  us. 
There  were  Pendleton  King,  acting  charge  d'affaires; 
Mr.  Gargiulo,  dragoman;  J.  Lynch  Pringle,  consul- 


58        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

general;  Mehmet,  the  cavass;  and  several  clerks  of  the 
consulate  and  legation. 

The  cavass,  by  the  way,  is  a  sort  of  bodyguard.  He 
walks  before  the  minister,  or  rides  on  the  box  beside  the 
driver,  and  serves  the  purpose  of  designating  that  the 
minister  or  ambassador  follows.  He  carries  two  huge 
pistols  and  a  sword  suspended  from  a  gold  belt,  and  his 
coat,  sometimes  red  and  sometimes  blue,  is  much  be- 
braided  and  embroidered.  The  natives  know  each  minis 
ter  or  ambassador  by  his  cavass. 

Our  first  impression  from  the  windows  of  the  Royal 
Hotel  in  Constantinople  was  of  picturesque  dirt.  As 
Mrs.  Straus  said  at  the  time,  dirt  not  only  on  the  hard 
earth  roads  and  the  people,  but  even  on  the  dogs.  In 
time,  however,  one  is  less  impressed  by  the  dirt  than  by 
the  picturesqueness  —  the  venders  calling  out  their 
wares  of  fish,  fruit,  meat,  vegetables,  all  carried  on  the 
edges  of  baskets  covered  with  leaves;  the  water-carriers 
with  their  urns  carried  on  yokes;  and  the  veiled  women. 

Immediately  upon  my  arrival,  of  course,  I  communi 
cated  with  His  Excellency,  Said  Pasha,  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  to  present  my  credentials  and  arrange 
for  an  audience  with  His  Majesty  the  Sultan,  Abdul 
Hamid.  The  Pasha  replied  at  once,  appointing  a  time 
two  days  later,  and  accordingly  I  went  to  the  Sublime 
Porte,  as  the  Turkish  Government  seat  is  called,  in  com 
pany  with  the  charge  and  the  dragoman  or  interpreter. 
That  was  about  May  26th.  Not  until  June  6th,  however, 
did  I  receive  a  communication  from  Munir  Pasha,  Grand 
Master  of  Ceremonies,  that  His  Majesty  had  named  June 
8th  for  my  audience.  The  next  evening  I  received  a 
telegram  postponing  the  audience  to  the  10th.  On  the 
9th  I  received  another  communication,  postponing  it  sine 


AUDIENCE  WITH  THE  SULTAN     59 

die.  On  the  15th  a  new  appointment  was  made  for  the 
17th;  then,  between  midnight  and  one  o'clock  on  the 
night  of  June  16th- 17th,  the  personal  secretary  of  the 
Sultan  came  knocking  at  the  door  of  my  apartment,  and, 
after  apologizing  for  his  arrival  at  that  untimely  hour, 
informed  me  that  he  had  come  at  the  Sultan's  special 
request  to  say  that  word  had  come  from  the  Porte  that 
June  17th  was  a  most  sacred  day,  a  fact  just  determined 
by  the  phases  of  the  moon,  and  the  Sultan  therefore  was 
constrained  to  postpone  the  audience  again.  The  date 
was  later  set  for  July  1st,  when  I  finally  had  my  audience. 

It  was  a  peculiarity  of  Abdul  Hamid  to  delay  audiences 
to  new  representatives  for  weeks  and  sometimes  months 
by  these  successive  appointments  and  postponements,  to 
no  other  purpose  than  to  impress  the  agents  of  foreign 
governments  with  the  importance  of  His  Majesty.  In 
my  case  there  was  some  added  cause:  it  was  the  month  of 
Ramazan,  during  which  only  the  most  pressing  official 
functions  take  place. 

Ramazan,  ninth  month  of  the  Turkish  calendar,  is  a 
period  of  fasting.  For  twenty-nine  days  every  Mussul 
man  abstains  from  food  and  water,  and  even  smoking, 
from  sunrise  to  sunset;  which  the  rich  arrange  conven 
iently  by  sleeping  all  day  and  eating  all  night,  while  the 
poor  who  have  to  work  all  day  eat  at  sundown,  at  mid 
night,  and  very  early  in  the  morning.  The  first  meal 
after  the  fasting,  at  sunset,  is  called  iltar.  The  fast  is 
broken  with  Ramazan  bread,  a  cakelike  bread,  circular 
in  shape,  which  we  saw  much  in  evidence  at  a  bazaar  in 
the  courtyard  of  a  mosque  at  Stamboul,  the  more  Ori 
ental  part  of  Constantinople,  where  the  costumes  of 
Greeks,  Armenians,  Turks,  and  Arabs  form  a  strange 
mixture  indeed. 

During    Beiram,    a   three    days'    feasting    following 


60        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Ramazan,  the  mosques  are  all  illuminated  at  night,  and 
the  view  over  the  water,  with  the  moving  lights  of  boats 
in  the  foreground  and  the  dimly  lighted  houses  beyond, 
interspersed  with  brightly  illumined  mosques,  is  quite 
like  a  picture  of  some  enchanted  land. 

Because  of  the  Sultan's  peculiarities  in  receiving  for 
eign  representatives,  the  custom  in  regard  to  official  calls 
at  Constantinople  is  different  from  that  at  most  capitals. 
Elsewhere  calls  on  colleagues  are  not  made  until  after  a 
minister  or  ambassador  has  had  his  audience;  but  here 
usage  dictated  calling  on  one's  colleagues  as  soon  as  pos 
sible.  Therefore  I  called  first  on  Baron  de  Calice,  ambas 
sador  from  Austria-Hungary  and  doyen  of  the  diplomatic 
corps.  He  received  me  with  great  cordiality  and  kind 
ness,  and  advised  me  fully  regarding  diplomatic  practices 
at  Constantinople.  And  we  were  welcomed  by  each  and 
all  of  my  colleagues  in  turn,  so  that  I  found  these  calls 
very  much  less  disagreeable  than  I  had  anticipated;  I 
even  enjoyed  many  of  them.  At  each  visit  coffee  or  tea 
was  served,  and  generally  cigarettes  too,  as  is  customary 
with  the  Turks,  which  is  wonderfully  effective  in  taking 
off  the  chill  of  diplomatic  formalities.  One  soon  gets  to 
expect  these  refreshments;  it  is  a  delightful  custom  that 
might  be  adopted  in  other  places  to  advantage. 

Another  reason  why  these  formal  calls  were  less  for 
midable  than  they  might  have  been  was  that  three  days 
after  our  arrival  at  the  capital  we  were  invited  to  a  garden 
party  given  by  Lady  White,  wife  of  the  British  am 
bassador,  Sir  William  A.  White.  This  served  to  give  us 
a  prompt  introduction  to  all  my  colleagues.  In  fact,  in 
the  five  weeks  intervening  between  our  arrival  and  my 
audience,  we  had  attended  so  many  garden  parties  and 
dinners  given  to  us,  that  I  found  myself  heartily  long- 


DIPLOMATIC  GARDEN  PARTIES          61 

ing  for  respite.  My  natural  inclination  was  to  regard 
these  social  gatherings  in  the  light  of  idle  frivolities, 
especially  in  the  summer,  when  one  is  supposed  to  be 
relatively  free  from  functions  of  this  kind;  and  I  was  not 
alone  among  my  colleagues  in  preferring  more  evening? 
at  home  to  the  occasional  headaches  that  it  cost  to  con 
tinue  the  very  late  hours  these  many  engagements  forced 
us  to  keep.  Yet  I  could  not  consistently  decline  invita 
tions;  such  a  course  might  have  been  interpreted  as  a 
desire  on  my  part  to  withdraw  from  the  diplomatic  circle 
and  would  have  interfered  with  the  pleasant  social  rela 
tions  it  was  incumbent  on  me  to  cultivate.  Attendance 
was  really  part  of  my  duty,  and  in  time  I  found  these 
functions  distinctly  advantageous. 

We  looked  forward  with  more  than  usual  interest  to  the 
evening  of  our  dinner  at  the  Persian  embassy.  The  Per 
sian  ambassador's  wife  had  been  a  Circassian  slave,  whom 
he  was  said  to  have  bought  for  £300  with  a  horse  thrown 
into  the  bargain.  The  ambassador's  wife  was,  of  course, 
typically  Circassian;  chalky  white  skin,  soft  black  eyes, 
small  features,  an  unattractive  figure  unattractively 
dressed,  with  whom  conversation  was  almost  nil  because 
she  knew  only  Persian. 

The  streets  of  Pera,  the  European  part  of  Constan 
tinople,  are  exceedingly  narrow  and  very  hilly,  for  the 
city  is  built  on  several  hills,  like  ancient  Rome;  in  addi 
tion  they  are  poorly  paved  and  dirty.  This  makes  driving 
dangerous  and,  as  in  mediaeval  times,  sedan  chairs  were 
quite  generally  in  use  as  a  means  of  conveyance  for  the 
ladies  of  the  diplomatic  corps  and  the  wives  of  the  higher 
Turkish  officials,  especially  at  night  to  dinners  and  other 
official  functions.  Two  sinewy  porters  carry  these  chairs, 
one  in  front  and  the  other  behind,  and  they  shuffle  along 
with  considerable  rapidity.  Usually  the  lady  is  carried 


62         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

while  the  gentleman,  preceded  by  his  cavass  in  the  case 
of  a  diplomat,  walks  alongside,  except  in  inclement 
weather  when  he  follows  also  in  a  chair.  I  am  reminded  of 
the  wife  of  the  German  ambassador  at  the  time,  a  large, 
heavy  woman,  whom  the  porters  quite  justly  charged 
double.  She,  however,  was  entirely  oblivious  of  her  extra 
avoirdupois  and  always  complained  of  the  injustice  of 
these  porters!  The  Austrian  and  Russian  embassies 
were  particularly  difficult  of  approach  by  conveyance 
other  than  the  sedan. 

We  certainly  were  living  in  a  new  sphere  of  life,  in  a 
strange  land  among  strange  people,  with  customs  and 
habits  that  brought  to  mind  the  age  of  the  patriarchs. 
There  was  much  to  see  where  some  thirty  nationalities 
lived  and  did  business  as  if  in  their  own  homes  —  much  to 
wonder  at,  much  to  deplore,  much  to  praise  and  admire. 
The  natives  are  a  peculiar  people,  with  many  admirable 
characteristics;  they  are  kind  and  hospitable,  compara 
tively  honest  and  reliable,  especially  the  lower  classes, 
and  they  manifest  a  most  sincere  devotion  to  their 
religion.  The  lower  classes  are  poor,  very  poor;  yet  they 
are  content  and  reasonably  happy  because  their  wants 
are  few.  Their  poverty  is  not  a  suffering  condition  and 
they  seemed  to  be  better  off  than  the  poor  elsewhere. 
Their  religion  strictly  interdicts  the  use  of  alcoholic 
drinks,  and  as  they  are  true  to  it  and  live  faithfully  up  to 
its  principles,  they  are  spared  all  the  evils  that  fall  in  the 
train  of  drunkenness. 

During  the  weeks  that  I  waited  for  my  audience  with 
the  Sultan  I  devoted  my  time  to  studying  in  detail  the 
various  questions  in  regard  to  our  diplomatic  relations,  so 
that  I  might  be  better  informed  when  they  came  up.  This 
study  was  very  interesting  from  an  historical  point  of 
view,  for  some  of  the  questions  were  related  to  capitula- 


THE  SULTAN  SAYS  HIS  PRAYERS         63 

tions  that  dated  as  far  back  as  the  fall  of  Constantinople 
in  1453.  My  legal  training  also  proved  valuable  in  en 
abling  me  to  understand  and  handle  matters. 

On  our  first  Friday  in  Constantinople  we  witnessed 
Selamlik,  the  picturesque  ceremony  held  with  great 
pomp  every  Friday,  attending  the  Sultan's  going  to  the 
mosque.  The  Sultan's  mosque  is  on  the  top  of  a  hill  com 
manding  the  most  beautiful  view  of  the  city,  from  which 
can  be  seen  the  Bosphorus  and,  farther  on,  the  Sea  of 
Marmora.  On  the  roads  surrounding  the  mosque  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  see  were  ranged  ten  or  more  regiments  of 
infantry  and  cavalry,  each  dressed  in  glittering  uniforms 
according  to  the  section  of  the  empire  from  which  they 
came,  the  most  resplendent  being  the  Nubian  and  the 
Arabian.  The  Sultan  arrived  in  an  open  landau,  and 
opposite  him  Osman  Pasha,  distinguished  soldier,  hero 
of  the  Battle  of  Plevna  in  the  Russo-Turkish  War,  and 
Grand  Marshal  of  the  Palace.  The  coachman  was  mag 
nificently  dressed  in  scarlet  and  gold,  and  following  were 
the  aides-de-camp,  also  beautifully  dressed,  one,  an 
Armenian,  all  in  white  and  gold.  As  the  Sultan  entered 
the  mosque  a  priest  chanted  a  call  to  prayer  which 
sounded  not  unlike  the  old  Hebrew  chants  in  some  of  our 
synagogues.  The  mosque  was  so  crowded  that  we  could 
see  many  Moslems  kneeling  and  salaaming  on  the  streets 
outside  the  doors.  The  service  lasted  about  twenty 
minutes,  whereupon  the  bands  played  and  the  Sultan  re 
viewed  his  troops  from  one  of  the  windows  of  the  mosque. 
He  then  returned  to  the  Palace  in  a  beautiful  top  phaeton 
drawn  by  two  horses,  which  he  drove  himself,  again  with 
Osman  Pasha  opposite,  followed  by  his  aides  and  the 
carriage  that  had  brought  him.  Usually  several  carriages, 
open  and  closed,  also  several  saddle  horses,  are  brought 


64        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

from  the  royal  stables  to  the  mosque,  that  the  Sultan 
may  take  his  choice  for  his  return  to  the  Palace. 

It  is  expected  as  a  display  of  good  will  that  the  ministers 
and  ambassadors  occasionally  attend  this  ceremony.  It 
was  practically  the  only  occasion  on  which  Abdul  Hamid 
appeared  in  public,  for  he  constantly  feared  assassina 
tion,  and  his  expression  showed  his  timidity.  Following 
Selamlik  he  quite  frequently  arranged  to  receive  in 
audience.  In  the  kiosque  or  small  house  beside  the 
mosque,  there  is  a  special  suite  of  rooms  reserved  for 
the  diplomatic  corps.  An  aide  informs  the  Sultan  what 
diplomatic  representatives  or  other  persons  of  distinction 
are  at  the  kiosque,  to  each  of  whom  His  Majesty  then 
sends  some  gracious  message.  While  prayers  are  being 
said  in  the  mosque,  the  guests  at  the  kiosque  are  served 
coffee  and  cigarettes. 

One  of  the  persons  whom  I  met  shortly  after  my 
arrival  in  the  city  was  Sir  Henry  Drummond  Wolff,  who 
was  in  Constantinople  as  Britain's  special  envoy  to 
negotiate  a  convention  regarding  the  withdrawal  of 
British  troops  from  Egypt.  He  had  a  suite  at  our  hotel 
where  we  saw  each  other  frequently  and  became  very 
good  friends.  Drummond  Wolff,  as  he  was  usually 
spoken  of  to  distinguish  him  from  the  several  other 
prominent  Wolffs,  was  certainly  a  remarkable  and  clever 
man,  and  a  great  raconteur.  He  was  then  in  his  late 
fifties,  had  had  wide  experience  as  a  diplomat,  and  was 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Turkish  temperament.  In 
fact,  he  was  at  home  in  all  that  part  of  the  world.  He 
was  born  in  Malta,  the  son  of  the  famous  missionary, 
Rev.  Joseph  Wolff,  a  Jew  who  became  a  convert  first  to 
Catholicism  and  then  to  Episcopalianism,  being  ordained 
as  priest  in  the  Church  of  England.  While  in  America 


A  SEASONED  DIPLOMAT  65 

he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Theology  from  the 
College  of  St.  John's,  Annapolis,  Maryland. 

Sir  Henry  advised  me  in  dealing  with  the  Turkish 
authorities  always  to  be  patient,  pleasant,  persistent. 
He  also  impressed  upon  me  the  importance  of  maintain 
ing  the  most  cordial  relations  with  my  colleagues  and  of 
returning  all  hospitalities;  that  a  well-disposed  colleague 
can  often  be  of  incalculable  assistance  in  inducing  the 
authorities  to  accede  to  any  proper  demand  one  might 
have  to  make.  However,  his  own  relations  with  the 
British  ambassador,  Sir  William  White,  were  not  so 
friendly.  The  estrangement  between  them  was  quite 
evident,  caused  no  doubt  by  personal  jealousy,  which  is 
so  likely  to  result  between  a  special  envoy  and  the  regu 
larly  accredited  representative  of  the  same  country  in  a 
given  territory. 

We  stayed  at  the  Royal  only  about  ten  days,  and  then 
moved  to  summer  quarters  in  a  hotel  at  Therapia,  a 
name  given  to  the  district  some  three  thousand  years  ago 
by  the  Greeks  because  of  its  healthful  and  balmy  climate. 
Here,  too,  Drummond  Wolff  had  a  neighboring  suite, 
and  later,  when  by  reason  of  a  longer  stay  than  antici 
pated  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  apartment  before  he 
was  ready,  we  put  a  portion  of  ours  at  his  disposal,  which 
he  much  appreciated.  It  was  a  very  pleasant  arrange 
ment,  and  diplomatically  no  less  profitable.  We  dined 
together  every  evening,  and  often  in  our  party  were  also 
Prince  Ghika,  Roumanian  charge,  and  the  Princess; 
Baron  Van  Tetz,  Dutch  minister,  and  the  Baroness. 
The  Baron  was  later  accredited  to  Berlin,  and  then 
made  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  his  own  country. 
He  has  now  retired  and  at  this  writing  he  and  the  Baron 
ess  still  live  at  The  Hague.  They  are  charming  people. 

On  June  21,  1887,  the  entire  diplomatic  corps  was 


66        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

present  in  official  dress  at  services  in  the  English  chapel, 
in  honor  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee.  The  chaplain  of  the 
English  embassy,  the  Reverend  George  Washington, 
officiated.  He  said  he  was  of  the  same  family  as  our  own 
George  Washington. 

The  day  before  my  audience  I  presided  at  the  com 
mencement  exercises  of  Robert  College  at  Roumeli- 
Hissar,  by  invitation  of  the  venerable  president,  Dr. 
George  Washburn.  The  college  in  1887  had  about  one 
hundred  and  eighty  students,  mainly  Bulgarians,  Greeks, 
and  Armenians,  with  two  or  three  Turks.  The  com 
mencement  was  quite  similar  to  those  at  home,  except 
that  the  orations  were  delivered  in  the  various  languages 
of  the  East  as  well  as  in  French  and  English. 

I  took  this  first  occasion  to  refer  in  a  larger  way  to  the 
lims  and  purposes  of  Robert  College  and  similar  Ameri 
can  institutions.  The  Turks  had  not  been  able  to  under 
stand  the  benevolence  that  prompted  the  establishment 
of  schools  and  colleges  by  Americans  throughout  the 
empire.  They  were  suspicious,  and  their  attitude  was 
founded  on  experiences  with  various  institutions  and 
societies  of  several  of  the  other  nations,  notably  the 
Greeks,  who,  under  guise  of  scientific  and  benevolent 
activity,  had  fostered  political  design.  The  Turks  be 
lieved  that  behind  our  institutions  lay  a  purpose  inimical 
to  the  sovereignty  of  Turkey,  a  belief  stimulated  by 
Russia  and  by  some  of  the  French  Catholics,  who  were 
opposed  to  the  extended  use  of  the  English  language  and 
the  influence  of  Protestant  English  and  American  ideas 
in  the  East.  This  gave  rise  to  many  of  the  vexatious  ques 
tions  that  the  legation  had  to  solve.  By  way  of  throwing 
some  oil  upon  these  troubled  waters,  therefore,  I  said, 
during  my  address: 


ADDRESS  AT  ROBERT  COLLEGE          67 

For  centuries  the  tide  of  progress  and  civilization  has  been 
making  its  way  toward  the  West.  Its  course  has  been  marked 
by  blood  and  carnage.  The  history  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of 
wiodern  times  chronicles  the  nations  and  empires  that  have 
sunk  in  this  mighty  current,  and  the  new  life  and  new  civiliza 
tion  that  have  sprung  up  over  the  ruins  of  the  old.  That  flood 
tide,  pushing  its  irresistible  course  onward,  still  swept  on,  until 
in  our  day  it  mingled  its  waters  with  the  Great  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  Ultima  Thule  having  at  last  been  reached,  the  great  ebb 
tide  began  to  course  its  way  backward;  and  America,  the 
youngest  of  nations,  in  gratitude  for  all  the  past,  as  a  token  of 
her  amity  and  her  friendship,  has  sent  back  on  the  advance 
current  of  this  return  tide  not  ships  of  war  nor  armed  troops, 
but  her  most  cherished  institutions,  a  fully  equipped  American 
college. 

So  that  here,  to-day,  on  the  beautiful  and  picturesque  shores 
of  the  classic  Bosphorus,  on  the  very  spot  where  the  nations  of 
the  East  four  and  a  half  centuries  ago  erected  and  left  the  well- 
preserved  monument  of  their  passage  to  the  West,  stands 
Robert  College.  What  a  tale  and  what  a  history!  Robert 
College  here  and  the  Towers  of  Roumeli-Hissar  there!  The 
one  the  fortified  remains  of  bygone  wars,  the  other  the  tranquil 
emblem  of  returning  peace.  What  a  double  tale  do  these  two 
institutions  speak  to  one  another!  The  tie  that  unites  them  is 
one  of  love  and  peace,  a  league  more  puissant  than  army  or 
navy  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  nations.  When  centuries 
shall  have  rolled  by  and  another  Gibbon  shall  come  to  write 
of  empires,  may  it  be  his  privilege  to  record  no  longer  the 
decline  and  fall,  but  the  rise  and  rejuvenation  of  this  Orient 
to  which  we  look  with  affection. 

And  now  that  I  had  been  received  and  entertained  by 
about  everybody  in  Constantinople,  it  was  time  for  my 
audience  with  the  Sultan,  who  came  last  like  the  prima 
donna .  Official  functions  at  Yildis  Palace,  as  the  Sultan's 
residence  is  called  (Yildis  meaning  star),  were  always 
most  dignified  and  punctilious.  Royal  carriages  were 
sent  from  the  Palace  with  escorts  for  myself  and  staff. 
At  the  entrance  to  the  Palace  we  were  met  by  the  Intro- 


68         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ducer  of  Ambassadors;  then  we  proceeded  to  the  salon  of 
the  Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies,  where  I  was  met  by 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  conducted  by  Osman 
Pasha,  Grand  Marshal,  into  the  presence  of  His  Majesty. 

The  Sultan  was  standing  ready  to  receive  me.  He  was 
a  small  man,  of  rather  spare  frame,  sallow  complexion, 
dark  eyes  that  sparkled  with  a  furtive  expression,  prom 
inent  aquiline  nose,  and  short  full  black  beard  which 
later,  when  it  turned  gray,  he  dyed  reddish  with  henna. 
He  had  on  a  black  frock  coat  that  buttoned  to  the  neck. 

According  to  custom  I  handed  him  the  letters  of  recall 
of  my  predecessor,  then  presented  my  credentials,  and 
made  a  brief  address,  a  copy  of  which  in  writing  I  left 
with  him.  It  read  as  follows : 

The  President  of  the  United  States  has  been  pleased  to 
charge  me  with  the  distinguished  honor  and  agreeable  duty  of 
cultivating  to  the  fullest  extent  the  friendship  which  has  so 
happily  subsisted  between  the  two  Governments,  and  of  con 
veying  to  Your  Imperial  Majesty  the  assurances  of  his  best 
wishes  for  the  welfare  of  Your  Imperial  Majesty  and  for  the 
prosperity  of  Turkey. 

As  the  faithful  representative  of  my  Government,  charged 
with  the  duty  of  protecting  the  interests  of  her  citizens,  permit 
me  to  express  the  hope  that  Your  Imperial  Majesty's  Govern 
ment  will  lend  me  its  kindly  aid  in  the  efforts  I  shall  at  all 
times  make  to  maintain  and  further  cement  a  good  under 
standing  for  the  development  of  the  relations  of  amity  and 
friendship  between  the  two  Governments,  and  that  the  same 
courtesy  and  cordiality  may  be  shown  me  which  were  so  gener 
ously  accorded  to  my  honored  predecessors. 

The  time  has  at  last  come,  through  the  progress  of  science^ 
when  all  nations  by  reason  of  the  facility  and  rapidity  of  com 
munication  have  been  brought  nearer  together,  so  that  their 
mutual  interests  and  relations  verily  entitle  them  to  be  called 
one  great  family. 

In  the  spirit  of  that  relationship  I  have  come  to  dwell  near 
the  Government  of  Your  Imperial  Majesty,  and  to  greet  you 


IN  THE  SULTAN'S  PALACE  69 

in  behalf  of  and  in  the  words  of  our  Chief  Magistrate  as  his 
"Great  and  Good  Friend,"  with  the  hope  "that  God  may  have 
Your  Imperial  Majesty  in  His  wise  keeping. 

Which  is  the  customary  language  of  such  documents,  with 
the  exception  of  the  third  paragraph.  His  Majesty  re 
plied  in  a  brief  address,  expressing  his  pleasure  in  receiv 
ing  me.  He  then  sat  down  and  bade  me  do  likewise, 
whereupon  we  were  served  with  cigarettes  and  Turkish 
coffee,  the  latter  in  egg-shaped  cups  resting  in  jewel- 
studded  holders.  The  Sultan  speaks  only  Turkish,  and 
I  spoke  English,  so  we  understood  one  another  by  means 
of  the  dragoman,  Mr.  Gargiulo,  who  had  been  for  twenty 
years  the  very  able  Turkish  adviser  and  interpreter  of 
the  legation  and  remained  at  that  post  for  ten  years 
thereafter. 

The  audience  concluded,  we  returned  to  the  legation  in 
the  same  stately  fashion  we  had  come,  following  which 
we  gave  a  reception  to  the  American  colony,  composed 
almost  exclusively  of  the  missionaries  resident  in  Con 
stantinople,  together  with  the  president  and  faculty  of 
Robert  College  and  of  the  Home  School  for  Girls,  then 
located  at  Scutari,  across  the  Bosphorus.  I  was  now 
ready  for  the  official  business  of  my  mission. 


CHAPTER  IV 
FIRST  TURKISH  MISSION 

Turkey's  jealousy  of  foreigners  —  My  protest  against  the  closing  of  American 
mission  schools  —  Diplomacy  prevents  drastic  regulations  proposed  by  Turkey 
—  The  schools  are  reopened  —  Defending  the  sale  of  the  Bible  —  A  cargo  of 
missionaries  and  rum  —  Robert  College  —  A  visit  to  Cairo  —  "Bombe  a  la 
Lincoln "  —  Governmental  reforms  in  Egypt  —  My  protest  against  persecu 
tion  of  Jews  in  flight  from  Russia  and  Roumania  —  At  Jerusalem  —  Huge 
delegation  of  Jews  pleads  with  me  for  release  of  imprisoned  relatives  —  I  make 
drastic  demands,  and  prisoners  are  promptly  released  —  Their  grateful  me 
morial  to  me  • —  Rights  of  American  citizens  on  Turkish  soil  —  Disputes  regard 
ing  our  Treaty  of  1830  —  Uncle  Sam  gives  $10,800  worth  of  presents  to  Turkish 
officials,  on  conclusion  of  a  treaty  —  Diplomatic  tangles;  United  States  left 
without  Treaty  of  Naturalization  with  Turkey  —  Baron  de  Hirsch,  interna 
tional  celebrity  —  I  am  invited  to  arbitrate  his  dispute  with  the  Sultan,  and 
am  offered  an  honorarium  of  1,000,000  francs  —  I  decline  honorarium,  but 
offer  to  mediate  —  Baroness  de  Hirsch's  philanthropies  —  American  capital 
ists  consider  Turkish  railway  concessions  —  Sultan  grants  permission  for 
American  excavation  in  Babylon  —  My  resignation  in  1888  —  The  Sultan's 
farewell. 

FOR  several  years  the  Turks  had  been  very  jealous 
of  foreigners,  especially  in  Asia  Minor,  and  the  result 
was  many  restrictions  which  manifested  themselves  in 
a  variety  of  relations.  The  growth  of  the  mission  schools 
and  their  increase  in  number  quite  naturally  enhanced 
the  suspicion  of  the  authorities,  with  the  help,  as  I  have 
mentioned,  of  those  whose  interests  were  served  in  help 
ing  the  Turks  to  see  danger  in  this  growth  of  our  insti 
tutions. 

At  the  legation  the  interests  of  the  American  mission 
aries  with  regard  to  their  schools  and  their  printed  matter 
formed  the  major  portion  of  the  affairs  requiring  my 
immediate  attention.  About  four  hundred  schools  had 
been  established  in  Turkey  by  the  Presbyterian  and 
Congregational  missionary  boards.  Beginning  with  the 
winter  of  1885,  upon  one  pretext  or  another,  thirty  of 


AMERICAN  MISSION  SCHOOLS  71 

these  schools  in  Syria  were  closed,  many  of  the  teachers 
arrested  and  forbidden  ever  to  teach  in  the  country 
again,  while  the  parents  were  threatened  with  fine  and 
imprisonment  if  they  continued  to  send  their  children  to 
American  schools.  With  few  exceptions  all  the  teachers 
and  parents  were  natives  and  Turkish  subjects.  The 
official  reason  given  for  the  closing  of  these  schools  was 
that  their  boards  had  not  complied  with  the  Turkish  law 
requiring  that  textbooks,  curriculums,  and  certificates  of 
the  teachers  be  submitted  to  the  authorities  for  exam 
ination;  although  the  missionary  representatives  gave 
assurance  that  these  requirements  had  been  met. 

Soon  after  my  audience  with  the  Sultan  I  took  up  the 
subject  of  these  schools  with  the  Grand  Vizier,  Kiamil 
Pasha,  who  was  perhaps  the  most  enlightened  statesman 
of  the  Turkish  Empire.  Mr.  King,  while  acting  charge, 
had  made  an  agreement  with  the  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction  whereby  the  missionaries  at  these  schools 
were  to  submit  the  textbooks  and  other  documentary 
equipment  to  the  local  authorities.  I  protested  to  the 
Grand  Vizier  against  the  closing  of  the  schools,  and  after 
some  weeks  we  reached  an  understanding :  he  was  to  tel 
egraph  the  vali  or  governor-general  at  Syria  that  the 
schools  were  to  be  allowed  to  reopen  upon  their  compli 
ance  with  the  law,  according  to  an  arrangement  between 
himself  and  myself.  The  outcome  looked  hopeful,  though 
months  dragged  along  without  further  result. 

Meanwhile,  and  quite  by  accident,  I  learned  that  the 
Porte  had  formulated  proposed  additional  regulations 
concerning  all  foreign  schools,  and  that  these  regulations 
were  about  to  be  submitted  to  the  Council  of  Ministers 
to  be  made  law.  I  immediately  requested  a  copy  from 
the  Grand  Vizier.  I  found,  to  my  surprise,  that  the 
regulations  were  calculated  to  place  insuperable  obstacles 


72        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

in  the  way  of  every  foreign  school  in  the  empire.  Among 
other  things,  in  addition  to  the  requirement  that  text 
books,  curriculums,  and  teachers'  certificates  be  sub 
mitted  for  examination,  all  schools  were  to  obtain  an 
irade  or  express  sanction  of  the  Sultan  in  order  to  func 
tion.  Failing  to  receive  that  irade  within  six  months  from 
the  date  of  the  law  embodying  the  new  regulations,  the 
authorities  in  the  several  provinces  were  commanded  to 
close  such  schools. 

I  communicated  my  discovery  to  those  of  my  col 
leagues  who  were  interested  with  me  in  this  dispute: 
Count  de  Montebello,  French  ambassador;  Baron  Blanc, 
Italian  ambassador;  and  Sir  William  White,  British 
ambassador.  At  the  same  time  I  submitted  copies  of  the 
proposed  regulations  to  the  Reverend  Doctor  Isaac  Bliss 
and  the  Reverend  Henry  O.  Dwight,  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  in  Western 
Turkey.  They  all  viewed  the  matter  as  I  did. 

The  following  day  I  again  called  on  the  Grand  Vizier, 
informing  him  that  I  looked  upon  these  regulations  as 
seriously  infringing  upon  the  rights  of  American  citizens 
in  Turkey,  and  pointing  out  my  objections  in  detail. 
The  three  colleagues  just  referred  to  did  the  same  on 
behalf  of  their  respective  subjects  who  had  mission  or 
other  schools  in  the  empire.  We  succeeded  in  impressing 
the  Grand  Vizier  with  the  force  and  validity  of  our  objec 
tions,  for  he  requested  us  to  put  them  in  writing  and 
forward  them  to  the  Porte.  With  the  aid  of  Drs.  Bliss 
and  Dwight  I  prepared  such  a  document,  and  I  am  glad 
to  be  able  to  say  that  our  protests  came  in  time  and  were 
sufficiently  forceful  to  prove  effective  in  preventing  this 
new  legislation. 

As  I  had  now  been  negotiating  for  several  months  with 
reference  to  the  Syrian  schools,  I  decided  that  the  most 


EFFECTIVE  DIPLOMACY  73 

efficient  way  of  translating  into  concrete  result  the 
repeated  promises  in  regard  to  them  was  to  visit  some  of 
our  missionary  schools  throughout  the  empire.  I  obtained 
the  necessary  permission  from  Washington  and  took  a 
journey  to  Cairo,  Jaffa,  Jerusalem,  Beirut,  Mersina,  and 
Smyrna,  where  I  conferred  with  our  missionaries,  with  our 
several  consuls,  as  well  as  with  the  respective  governors 
and  governor-generals.  I  found  the  relations  between 
the  local  authorities  and  our  consuls,  and  between 
the  authorities  and  the  missionary  representatives, 
quite  friendly,  in  some  places  indifferent,  but  nowhere 
hostile. 

I  had  instructed  the  missionaries  to  get  ready  for  the 
opening  of  the  schools,  and  I  planned  the  trip  so  as  to 
be  in  Beirut  about  the  time  my  order  for  the  reopening 
was  to  be  put  in  force.  My  plan  had  the  desired  effect. 
In  anticipation  of  my  arrival  at  Beirut,  fifteen  of  the 
schools  were  reopened ;  and  while  I  was  there  five  or  six 
more.  That  was  about  as  many  of  the  total  thirty  as  the 
missionaries  cared  to  or  were  in  a  position  to  reopen 
then.  For  the  time  being  I  felt  satisfied  that  I  had  suffi 
ciently  reversed  the  Government  policy  to  check  the  pro 
gressive  closing  of  the  schools  which,  if  continued,  would 
seriously  have  threatened  the  existence  of  all  American 
schools  in  Turkey. 

I  must  here  express  my  appreciation  of  the  assistance 
given  me  by  Erhard  Bissinger,  our  consul  at  Beirut.  He 
was  an  earnest,  sincere  man,  formerly  a  New  York  mer 
chant.  Although  his  health  was  frail  he  worked  with 
unremitting  zeal  and  efficiency,  discharging  his  official 
duties  with  rare  judgment  and  tact.  I  could  always  rely 
on  the  correctness  of  his  reports  respecting  the  many 
difficulties  as  they  arose,  and  I  could  always  feel  assured 
that  in  each  instance  he  would  apply  every  effort  to  bring 


74         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

about  an  adjustment  with  the  local  authorities,  by  whom 
he  was  as  highly  esteemed  as  by  the  missionaries. 

Another  expression  of  the  Government's  enmity  toward 
the  activities  of  our  missionaries  was  the  treatment  being 
accorded  the  colporteurs,  or  persons  who  went  about 
selling  Bible  tracts.  The  agents  of  the  American  as  well 
as  the  British  Bible  Society  were  constantly  and  arbi 
trarily  being  arrested.  They  were  charged  with  plying 
their  trade  without  license,  yet  when  they  made  applica 
tion  they  were  never  able  to  get  license.  From  time  to 
time  I  protested  against  these  arrests  and  secured  the 
release  of  one  after  another  of  the  agents;  but  the  thing 
to  be  done  was  to  prevent  arrests. 

The  fact  was  they  were  being  made  without  real  cause. 
Before  these  tracts  or  any  other  material  could  be  printed 
a  permit  had  to  be  obtained  from  the  Ottoman  Govern 
ment.  The  material  had  to  pass  censorship  before  it  was 
allowed  to  be  printed,  so  that  the  very  fact  of  its  appear 
ing  in  print  was  proof  of  the  authorization  of  the  censors. 
I  held  that,  once  printed,  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  these 
tracts  was  in  restraint  of  commerce;  that  there  was  no 
reason  why  book  hawkers  should  be  under  different  regu 
lations  from  hawkers  of  any  other  wares. 

I  prepared  an  argument  along  these  lines,  which  I 
presented  to  the  Grand  Vizier,  and  he  agreed  with  my 
conclusions.  He  forthwith  gave  orders  for  the  release  of 
all  colporteurs  and  that  no  further  arrests  were  to  be 
made.  The  British  Bible  Society,  of  course,  benefited 
equally  with  our  own  by  these  orders,  and  I  received  their 
grateful  appreciation  through  my  colleague,  Sir  William 
White. 

All  this  hostility  toward  the  missionaries  and  their 
work  might  be  construed  to  be  founded  upon  an  objection 


DEFENDING  SALE  OF  THE  BIBLE        75 

by  the  Government  to  having  its  subjects  converted  to 
Christianity.  But  it  was  rather  foreign  influence  as  a 
whole  that  was  being  fought,  and  religion  was  simply  the 
convenient  peg.  Conversions  from  Mohammedanism 
were  few  and  far  between,  and  for  the  number  of  Moham 
medans  turned  Christian  in  the  course  of  a  year  there 
were  as  many  Christians  turned  Mohammedan.  The 
Mohammedans  are  intensely  and  sincerely  devoted  to 
their  faith.  On  the  whole  they  are  convinced  that  their 
religion  is  the  only  true  one  and  that  Christianity  is 
inferior  and  less  rational.  Such  converts  as  the  mis 
sionaries  do  make  come  almost  exclusively  from  among 
the  Armenians,  Syrians,  Greeks,  Maronites,  and  other 
Christian  sects  whose  form  of  Christianity  is  of  a  mediae 
val  character.  The  chief  missionary  work  in  Turkey  is 
educational,  carried  forward  in  a  religious  spirit.  At  the 
time  of  my  visit  to  the  various  vilayets,  the  Presbyterian 
Board  alone  had  over  one  hundred  schools  throughout 
Syria,  all  located  in  places  where  previously  there  had 
been  no  schools  at  all. 

Many  of  the  men  who  carried  forward  missionary 
work  had  consecrated  their  whole  lives  to  it.  Chief  among 
these  were  Rev.  Henry  H.  Jessup,  venerable  patriarch  of 
the  Presbyterian  missionaries;  Rev.  Daniel  Bliss,  presi 
dent  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College:  and  Dr.  George 
Washburn,  president  of  Robert  College. 

Dr.  Jessup  and  Dr.  Bliss  had  started  for  the  field  to 
gether  in  1856,  when,  in  bleak  December,  they  both  left 
Boston  in  the  sailing  vessel  Sultana,  which,  according 
to  Dr.  Jessup 's  autobiography.  "Fifty-Three  Years  in 
Syria,"  carried  in  addition  to  nine  or  ten  missionaries  a 
cargo  of  New  England  rum  to  Smyrna  —  a  cargo  spirited 
no  less  than  spiritual. 


76         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Dr.  Bliss  was  succeeded  in  1902  by  his  distinguished 
son,  Rev.  Howard  S.  Bliss,  who  conducted  with  renewed 
vigor  the  work  of  his  father,  enlarging  the  scope  and  cur 
riculum  of  the  college  so  that  through  its  thousands  of 
graduates  in  the  arts,  in  science,  and  in  medicine  it  be 
came  a  potent  force  throughout  the  whole  Near  East. 
During  my  subsequent  missions  to  Turkey  I  became  very 
intimate  with  the  younger  Bliss,  and  during  the  Peace 
Conference  in  1919,  when  he  was  in  Paris  in  behalf  of 
Syria,  I  was  able  to  continue  this  intimacy.  Unfortu 
nately  in  Paris  he  was  already  suffering  from  a  serious 
malady  which  resulted  in  his  death  in  America  the  year 
following.  He  was  honored,  respected,  and  beloved  in 
both  the  old  world  and  the  new. 

Dr.  Washburn  was  a  man  of  statesmanship  as  well  as 
erudition.  His  book  of  recollections,  "Fifty  Years  in 
Constantinople,"  is  valuable  for  the  light  it  throws  on 
political  issues  in  Turkey  no  less  than  on  questions  edu 
cational  and  religious.  He  was  recognized  as  an  author 
ity  on  Turkish  and  Balkan  affairs,  and  the  influence  of 
the  college  was  by  no  means  limited  to  the  Turkish  Em 
pire;  it  was  felt  quite  as  much  throughout  the  Balkan 
States.  Bulgaria  at  one  period  was  largely  governed  by 
officials  who  had  been  graduated  from  Robert  College, 
and  they  looked  to  Dr.  Washburn  as  their  chief  adviser. 
The  British  ambassador  at  Constantinople  frequently 
consulted  him  and  was  swayed  by  his  advice,  for  Dr. 
Washburn  understood  the  Turks  and  spoke  their  lan 
guage.  He  was  the  second  president  of  the  college,  having 
succeeded  his  father-in-law,  the  Reverend  Cyrus  Ham- 
lin,  D.D. 

On  the  faculty  of  Robert  College  were  a  number  of 
other  very  able  men:  Dr.  Albert  L.  Long,  Professor  of 
Natural  Science,  distinguished  as  an  archaeologist  as  well. 


ROBERT  COLLEGE  77 

was  a  man  of  engaging  personality.  He  had  a  large  ac 
quaintance  among  the  learned  Turks,  whose  estimate  of 
our  country  was  materially  influenced  for  the  good  by 
their  association  with  him.  Then  there  was  Dr.  Edwin  A. 
Grosvenor,  Professor  of  Latin  and  History,  who  resigned 
shortly  afterward  to  accept  a  professorship  at  Amherst. 
He  was  then  at  work  on  his  scholarly  "History  of  Con 
stantinople,"  which  I  consider  the  best  and  most  reliable 
work  on  that  subject. 

In  1888  I  secured  for  Robert  College,  after  arduous 
negotiation,  permission  for  the  erection  of  two  new  build 
ings,  one  a  house  for  the  president  and  the  other  an  addi 
tion  to  the  college  itself.  When  the  permits  came  through 
there  was  no  mention  of  the  addition  to  the  college,  and 
as  work  on  it  meanwhile  had  been  begun,  no  little  anxiety 
ensued.  It  developed  that  some  one  on  the  staff  of  the 
Grand  Vizier  had  been  bribed  by  an  enemy  of  the  college 
to  tamper  with  the  permits.  However,  because  of  the 
good  relationship  between  Kiamil  Pasha  and  myself,  he 
acknowledged  this  bit  of  chicanery  and  duly  rectified  it. 

I  might  add  that  in  numerous  instances  I  was  able  to 
arrange  unofficially  with  the  Grand  Vizier  matters  which 
threatened  to  become  more  or  less  troublesome.  This 
method  of  negotiating  was  peculiarly  advantageous  at 
the  Porte,  where  delays  were  proverbial  and  so  frequently 
defeated  official  action.  Again,  some  of  the  difficulty  ex 
perienced  by  my  colleagues  in  getting  proper  redress  for 
violations,  even  gross  violations,  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  Porte  was  not  always  able  to  control  the  governor- 
generals  of  the  provinces. 

I  have  said  that  my  trip  among  our  missionary  schools 
included  a  visit  to  Cairo.  At  that  time  Egypt  was  still 
under  Turkish  sovereignty  and  questions  of  larger  impor- 


78        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

tance  had  to  be  taken  up  with  the  Sublime  Porte.  Thus 
American  questions  came  under  my  jurisdiction  as  envoy 
extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  empire. 
Our  representative  at  Cairo,  John  Cardwell,  had  the  title 
of  consul-general  and  diplomatic  agent,  and  had  to  re 
ceive  his  exequatur  from  the  Sublime  Porte.  He  was 
a  conscientious  and  capable  official  who  had  been  there 
since  the  beginning  of  the  first  Cleveland  Administration. 

On  this  trip  also  I  saw  much  of  Anthony  M.  Keiley  and 
his  charming  wife;  I  have  spoken  of  him  in  a  previous 
chapter  as  having  been  rejected  for  the  post  of  United 
States  minister  by  Austria-Hungary.  Keiley  was  serving 
as  one  of  the  American  judges  of  the  Mixed  or  Reform 
Tribunal  at  Cairo  and  was  highly  respected  for  his  ability 
at  this  international  court. 

Mohammed  Tewfik,  son  of  the  extravagant  Ismail  of 
Suez  Canal  fame,  whom  he  succeeded,  was  Khedive  of 
Egypt  and  entertained  us  during  our  visit.  He  was  only 
thirty-six  years  old,  and  without  his  fez  might  have  been 
taken  for  an  Englishman.  He  spoke  fluent  English  and 
his  conversation  showed  him  to  be  well  informed  regard 
ing  the  governments  and  peoples  of  Europe.  Within  an 
hour  after  my  first  call  upon  him  he  called  with  his  aide- 
de-camp  upon  me  at  the  Hotel  Shepheard.  He  wanted  to 
decorate  me,  but  I  informed  his  aide  that  under  our  sys 
tem  we  did  not  permit  diplomatic  representatives  to  ac 
cept  such  distinctions;  so  the  next  day  he  sent  a  lesser 
decoration  to  the  manager  of  the  hotel,  which,  it  was  said, 
he  did  in  my  honor. 

A  few  days  later  we  were  invited  to  lunch  with  him, 
and  there  were  also  present  a  number  of  higher  officials. 
The  menu  consisted  of  dishes  with  such  improvised 
names  as  "crevettes  a  PAmericaine,"  "bombe  a  la  Lin 
coln,"  etc.  One  dish  that  made  a  deep  impression  upon 


A  VISIT  TO  CAIRO  79 

my  none-too-keen  gastronomic  memory  was  the  delicious 
Egyptian  quail,  which  is  larger  and  plumper  than  our 
own.  In  season  the  birds  migrate  from  the  north  and 
are  trapped  in  great  numbers.  They  could  be  bought  in 
the  markets  for  a  piaster,  or  less  than  five  cents. 

I  had  frequent  conferences  with  Nubar  Pasha,  Egypt's 
foremost  statesman.  He  was  an  Armenian  educated  by 
Jesuits  in  France.  His  knowledge  was  extensive,  and  he 
combined  the  enlightened  viewpoint  of  a  European 
statesman  of  the  first  rank  with  all  the  subtlety  of  aa 
Oriental.  It  was  he  who  conceived  the  plan  of  introduc 
ing  a  legal  system  and  good  government  in  Egypt,  and 
creating  the  mixed  tribunals  or  international  law  courts. 
In  the  reorganization  of  Egypt  he  acted  in  sympathy 
with  Lord  Dufferin's  programme  and  consequently  was 
highly  regarded  by  the  British. 

With  Sir  Evelyn  Baring,  British  agent  and  consul- 
general  in  Egypt,  afterwards  Lord  Cromer,  I  had  a  pleas 
ant  conversation.  He  was  then  at  the  height  of  his  power 
in  the  reconstruction  of  Egypt.  Major-General  Sir  Fran 
cis  Grenfell,  sirdar  or  commanding  general  of  the  Egyp 
tian  army,  is  another  memory  in  connection  with  that 
visit. 

I  regretted  that  time  did  not  permit  my  going  up  the 
Nile;  but  like  every  one  with  an  historical  imagination  I 
was  immensely  impressed  with  the  grandeur  and  massive 
beauty  of  the  pyramids  and  the  classic  ruins  of  ancient 
Egypt,  which  with  their  five  thousand  or  more  years  of 
existence  have  outdistanced  all  other  relics  in  bringing 
the  handiwork  of  man  down  through  ages  of  devastating 
time. 

There  was  a  matter  pending  at  Jerusalem  regarding 
which  our  Secretary  of  State  had  instructed  me,  and 


80        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

which  I  thought  best  to  look  into  personally  while  on  this 
trip.  Foreign  Jews  were  being  expelled  simply  because 
of  their  race,  and  American  Jews  were  being  discrimi 
nated  against  along  with  those  of  other  nations.  In  the 
background  of  this  action  by  Turkey  were  Russia  and 
Roumania,  for  since  the  days  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition 
the  Ottoman  authorities,  with  rare  exceptions,  had  been 
not  only  tolerant  but  hospitable  to  Jewish  immigrants. 
Roumania,  contrary  to  express  provisions  of  the  Treaty 
of  Berlin  guaranteeing  equal  political  and  civil  rights  to 
all  subjects  in  this  newly  created  principality,  placed  re 
strictions  upon  her  Jewish  subjects,  causing  a  large  num 
ber  to  emigrate.  And  from  Russia,  following  the  enforce 
ment  of  the  Ignatieff  laws  of  1882  (some  of  them  laws 
that  had  been  on  the  statute  books  unenforced  for 
years),  there  was  also  a  wholesale  exodus  of  persecuted 
Jews.  Most  of  these  people  went  to  America,  but  some  to 
other  countries,  including  Palestine. 

It  was  the  irony  of  persecution  that  the  Russians  who 
came  to  Turkey  were  claimed  as  subjects  by  Russia, 
which  entered  a  protest  at  the  Porte  against  making  them 
Ottoman  subjects.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Russian  Patri 
arch  in  Turkey  and  the  dignitaries  of  the  Roman  Church 
objected  to  the  settlement  of  foreign  Jews  in  Palestine. 
This  pressure  from  powers  that  Turkey  wished  to  please 
brought  forth  the  promulgation  of  a  law  interdicting  all 
Jews  from  coming  to  Palestine  for  permanent  residence. 
Besides  those  from  Russia  and  Roumania,  there  were  a  few 
Jews  coming  from  England  and  France.  And  there  were 
a  very  few  coming  from  America  —  naturalized  citizens. 

At  the  Porte  I  had  taken  this  matter  up  with  the  Grand 
Vizier.  He  told  me  that  a  regulation  was  communicated 
to  the  Imperial  authorities  at  Jerusalem  limiting  the  stay 
of  foreign  Jews  there  to  one  month.  Later  he  told  me 


PERSECUTION  OF  JEWS  81 

that  the  Council  of  Ministers  was  about  to  change  this 
limit  to  three  months.  He  gave  as  reasons  for  the  exist 
ence  of  any  such  regulations,  first,  that  at  certain  times 
of  the  year,  Easter,  for  example,  religious  fanaticism  was 
at  so  high  a  pitch  that  Jews  had  to  remain  in  their  houses 
to  escape  attack  and  perhaps  murder  at  the  hands  of  the 
Christians.  In  the  second  place,  it  had  been  reported  that 
the  Jews  of  all  the  world  were  planning  to  strengthen 
themselves  in  and  around  Jerusalem  with  a  view  to  re 
establishing  their  ancient  kingdom  at  some  future  time. 

I  answered  that  of  course  the  first  reason  could  be  done 
away  with  by  a  strong  force  of  police.  As  for  the  second, 
if  the  Porte  would  make  inquiry  it  could  satisfy  itself 
that  there  was  no  such  plan  among  the  Jews  of  the  world, 
that  the  immigration  was  caused  by  the  persecution  in 
Russia  and  Roumania.  (This  was  nine  years  before 
the  publication  of  the  pamphlet,  in  1896,  by  Dr.  Herzl, 
from  which  generated  modern  Zionism.  I  shall  speak  of 
Dr.  Herzl  later.)  So  far  as  the  American  Jews  were  con 
cerned,  I  informed  the  Grand  Vizier  that  it  was  a  funda 
mental  principle  of  our  Government  to  make  no  distinc 
tion  of  race  or  creed  among  our  citizens,  and  that  we  had 
consistently  denied  to  foreign  nations  that  right  over  our 
citizens,  as  the  provisions  in  our  treaties  with  the  Otto 
man  Empire  showed.  To  all  of  this  the  Grand  Vizier 
replied  simply  that  should  any  American  be  expelled  he 
would  carefully  consider  my  arguments  and  give  instruc 
tions  accordingly. 

On  communicating  with  our  consul-general  at  Jeru 
salem,  Henry  Gillman,  I  learned  that  he  had  taken  the 
same  position,  and  that  to  date  no  American  citizen  had 
been  expelled;  also  that  the  American  consulate  was  the 
only  one  which  had  refused  aid  to  the  authorities  in  the 
expulsion  of  foreign  Jews,  and  our  representative  was  not 


82        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

being  made  very  comfortable  for  this  non-cooperation 
with  the  local  government.  Here  the  matter  stood  when 
I  left  Constantinople. 

There  were  a  number  of  other  vexatious  questions 
pending  between  the  vali  at  Jerusalem  and  Mr.  Gillman, 
and  I  deemed  it  good  policy  to  show  my  resentment  to 
the  vali  for  his  arbitrary  methods.  I  declined  the  courtesy 
of  the  official  conveyance  with  which  he  sent  one  of  his 
aides  to  Jaffa  to  meet  me  and  my  family  and  take  us  to 
Jerusalem.  We  took  a  Cook's  conveyance,  stopped  over 
night  at  Ramleh,  and  next  day  drove  over  the  hills  of 
Judea  to  Jerusalem,  where  Mr.  Gillman  conducted  us  to 
comfortable  quarters  at  a  hotel  outside  the  walls. 

Scarcely  had  I  arrived  at  the  hotel  when  a  huge  delega 
tion  of  Jews,  men  and  women,  some  with  infants  in  their 
arms,  came  to  plead  with  me  to  obtain  the  release  of  rel 
atives  and  friends  who  had  been  put  in  prison  by  the  vali 
or  governor  because  they  had  come  to  settle  there.  I  had 
known  of  the  troubled  conditions  in  Jerusalem  because 
of  the  immigration  of  the  Jews;  but  until  my  arrival  there 
I  was  not  aware  of  the  imprisonment  of  these  people. 
More  than  four  hundred  of  them  were  being  held  in  prison 
awaiting  deportation. 

Instead  of  calling  on  the  vali  as  ordinarily  would  have 
been  proper,  I  sent  a  note  to  him  through  the  consul  de 
manding  the  immediate  release  of  the  immigrants  who, 
I  claimed,  were  being  imprisoned  contrary  to  our  treaty 
as  well  as  the  treaties  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  other 
powers;  I  said  that  I  should  decline  to  call  upon  him 
until  this  injustice  was  righted  by  such  release;  and  that, 
further,  unless  my  request  was  promptly  complied  with  I 
should  appeal  to  the  Sublime  Porte  for  his  removal. 

I  felt  authorized  to  take  so  drastic  a  step  by  reason  of 


JEWISH  PRISONERS  RELEASED  83 

the  negotiations  I  had  had  with  the  Grand  Vizier  and  in 
view  of  our  treaty  and  the  treaties  of  several  of  the  powers 
I  have  referred  to.  I  obtained  the  desired  result.  The  vali 
communicated  my  message  to  the  Porte,  and  the  Grand 
Vizier  instructed  him  to  comply  with  my  request.  Within 
twenty-four  hours  all  the  prisoners  were  released. 

The  following  morning  there  was  a  delegation  of  several 
thousand  people  outside  my  hotel,  who  had  come  to  ex 
press  their  gratitude.  They  presented  me  with  a  beauti 
fully  embossed  memorial,  the  text  of  which,  translated, 
reads : 

With  delight  of  soul  we  bring  to  thee,  O  Sir,  glory  of  our  people, 
the  blessing  of  our  community,  the  congregations  of  Israel 
dwelling  in  Zion  and  in  all  the  cities  of  the  Holy  Land, 

THE  BLESSING  OF  MAZZOL  TOV 

(good  fortune) 

because  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  has  raised  thee  to  fame  and 
glory  and  has  given  to  thee  a  seat  of  honor  among  the  mighty  of 
the  earth.  And  we  lift  our  hands  to  the  Holy  Sanctuary  (pray 
ing)  that  thy  horn  be  exalted  with  honor  and  splendor,  and 
that  thou  be  given  the  strength  and  the  power  to  exalt  the 
horn  of  Israel,  thy  people,  to  speak  in  their  favor  before  the 
throne  of  the  Government  —  may  its  glory  increase!  —  and 
that  thou  continue  in  thy  honored  office  for  many  days,  until 
he  (the  messiah)  shall  come  unto  Shiloh  "and  unto  him  shall  the 
obedience  of  the  people  be"  —  soon,  in  our  days,  amen! 

Such  is  the  blessing  of  those  who  respect  and  honor  thee  in 
accordance  with  thy  high  and  exalted  station. 

The  leaders  of  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem  —  may  it  be  built  and 
established  in  our  days! 

It  is  signed  with  the  seals  and  signatures  of  Rafail  Meir 
Panisel  (Haham  Bashi),  chief  rabbi  of  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  Jews  in  Jerusalem,  and  Samuel  Salant,  chief 
rabbi  of  the  Ashkenazim,  Perushim,  and  Hasidim  IB 
Jerusalem. 


84        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Now  I  called  upon  the  vali,  who  received  me  very  gra 
ciously  and  with  great  courtesy.  I  thanked  him  for  his 
prompt  compliance  with  my  request,  and  expressed  the 
hope  that,  inasmuch  as  I  had  an  understanding  with  the 
Porte  that  no  discrimination  was  to  be  made  against  Jew 
ish  immigrants  to  Jerusalem,  I  should  not  in  future  have 
to  complain  of  any  infringement  upon  this  understanding, 
otherwise  I  should  again  be  compelled  to  take  drastic 
action.  I  called  his  attention  to  the  treaties  referred  to, 
of  which  he  had  had  no  previous  knowledge. 

I  stopped  to  make  some  official  calls,  accompanied  by 
the  consul  and  his  staff.  As  is  customary  when  high  offi 
cials  go  through  the  streets  of  the  Holy  City,  several  hal 
berdiers  of  the  vali  preceded,  to  give  distinction  to  the 
party  as  well  as  protection  and  a  clear  passage  through 
the  crowds.  I  could  remain  in  Jerusalem  only  three  or 
four  days,  however,  for  I  had  to  catch  the  steamer  that 
stopped  at  Alexandretta  and  Smyrna,  where  I  wanted  to 
confer  with  our  consuls. 

Upon  my  return  to  Constantinople  my  French  and 
British  colleagues  were  much  pleased  at  my  having  se 
cured  the  release  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  in  Palestine. 
They  had  received,  through  their  foreign  offices,  expres 
sions  of  appreciation  and  grateful  acknowledgment  from 
such  organizations  as  the  Anglo-Jewish  Association  of 
London,  and  the  Alliance  Israelite  of  Paris. 

The  next  step  in  the  development  of  this  question  was 
a  communication  received  by  our  State  Department  from 
Mavroyeni  Bey,  Turkish  minister  at  Washington,  in 
forming  the  Department  of  a  change,  indeed,  of  the  time 
limit  from  one  month  to  three  for  the  sojourn  of  Jews  in 
Jerusalem,  with  the  proviso,  however,  "that  they  are 
going  to  Jerusalem  in  the  performance  of  a  pilgrimage, 


wirw  uwir  .pr  '^yD  p^run 

'm  -nrn  ^m  ir^  mi1  o 


TESTIMONIAL  GIVEN  TO  MR.  STRAUS  IN  JERUSALEM 

IN  APPRECIATION  OF  THE  RELEASE  OF 

SEVERAL  HUNDRED  PRISONERS 


RIGHTS  OF  AMERICAN  CITIZENS         85 

and  not  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  commerce  or  tak 
ing  up  their  residence  there." 

This  communication  was  received  while  I  was  on  my 
trip,  and  Secretary  Bayard  forwarded  it  to  me  with  the 
instruction  that  I  take  up  the  subject  with  the  Ottoman 
Government  as  follows: 

To  require  of  applicants  for  passports,  which  under  our  laws 
are  issued  to  all  citizens  upon  the  sole  evidence  of  their  citizen 
ship,  any  announcement  of  their  religious  faith  or  declaration 
of  their  personal  motives  in  seeking  such  passports,  would  be 
utterly  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  and  to  the 
intent  of  the  solemn  proscription  forever  by  the  Constitution 
of  any  religious  test  as  a  qualification  of  the  relations  of  the 
citizen  to  the  Government,  and  would,  moreover,  assume  an 
inquisitorial  function  in  respect  of  the  personal  affairs  of  the 
individual,  which  this  Government  can  not  exert  for  its  own 
purposes,  and  could  still  less  assume  to  exercise  with  the  object 
of  aiding  a  foreign  Government  in  the  enforcement  of  an 
objectionable  and  arbitrary  discrimination  against  certain  of 
our  citizens. 

Our  adherence  to  these  principles  has  been  unwavering  since 
the  foundation  of  our  Government,  and  you  will  be  at  no  loss 
to  cite  pertinent  examples  of  our  consistent  defense  of  religious 
liberty,  which,  as  I  said  in  my  note  to  Baron  Schaeffer  of  May 
18,  1885,  in  relation  to  the  Keiley  episode  at  Vienna,  "is  the 
chief  corner-stone  of  the  American  system  of  Government,  and 
provisions  for  its  security  are  embedded  in  the  written  charter 
and  interwoven  in  the  moral  fabric  of  its  laws." 

I  received  this  upon  my  return.  Secretary  Bayard 
asked  me  also  to  ascertain  the  views  of  my  colleagues 
respecting  this  irade,  and  I  found  them  willing  and  ready 
to  take  it  up  with  the  Porte  in  a  manner  similar  to  the 
instructions  I  had  received. 

I  called  on  Said  Pasha  and  left  with,  him  a  note  in  ac 
cordance  with  my  instructions,  and  I  sent  a  copy  of  this 
note  to  the  French  and  British  ambassadors.  They  in 


36         UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

turn  each  advised  the  Ministry  that  they  could  not  admit 
of  regulations  prejudicial  to  the  existing  rights  of  their 
subjects  as  secured  by  treaties.  And  here  for  a  time  the 
matter  rested. 

Several  months  later  three  American  Jews  were  ex 
pelled  from  Jerusalem  because  they  had  not  left  the  city 
at  the  expiration  of  three  months,  and  again  the  question 
had  to  be  taken  up  with  the  Porte.  This  time  Said  Pasha 
replied  that  the  restrictions  with  regard  to  the  three 
Americans  had  been  ordered  withdrawn,  "the  Sublime 
Porte  having  lately  decided  that  the  measure  concerning 
the  Israelites  going  to  Palestine  shall  not  be  applied  but 
to  those  who  emigrate  in  number  (en  nombre),  and  that  no 
obstacle  shall  be  opposed  to  the  sojourn  of  those  who  are 
not  in  this  class." 

This,  like  most  other  questions  that  arose  between  the 
Ottoman  Government  and  our  own,  could  not  be  settled 
for  any  length  of  time  by  principle,  law,  or  treaty.  Such 
documents  might  be  used  as  reminders  of  agreements 
once  reached,  but  in  Turkey  they  do  not  of  themselves 
direct  policies  or  action.  Drummond  Wolff  had  advised 
being  "patient,  pleasant,  persistent,"  to  which  I  would 
add:  eternally  vigilant. 

On  the  whole,  the  interests  of  the  United  States 
throughout  the  Ottoman  Empire  were  peculiar,  in  that 
the  majority  of  the  complaints  related  to  personal,  as 
distinct  from  commercial,  rights.  I  have  said  in  an  earlier 
chapter  that  some  of  the  questions  at  issue,  especially 
those  involving  extraterritoriality,  giew  out  of  capitula 
tions  dating  back  over  four  hundred  years,  to  the  con 
quest  of  Constantinople  by  the  Moslems  in  1453.  The 
terms  of  these  capitulations  or  "privileges"  were  made 
originally  between  the  Greeks  and  the  various  Italian 


OUR  TREATY  OF  1830  87 

city  republics  —  Pisa,  Genoa,  Venice.  The  Moslems 
later  embodied  them  in  revised  capitulations  with  France 
in  1535,  1604,  1673,  and  1740;  with  England  in  1583  and 
1675;  with  Holland  in  1680;  with  Austria  in  1718;  and 
with  Russia  in  1783.  On  these  later  European  capitula 
tions  was  based  our  own  first  treaty  with  the  Sublime 
Porte  in  1830.  Practically  speaking,  therefore,  consular 
jurisdiction  in  Turkey  was  then  not  very  different  from 
what  it  was  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

When  I  took  office  one  of  the  vexatious  questions  to  be 
settled  was  the  interpretation  of  Clause  IV  of  the  Treaty 
of  1830.  This  treaty  was  negotiated  by  Charles  Rhind, 
as  American  commissioner,  with  Reis  Effendi,  Turkish 
representative.  Rhind  had  prepared  it,  with  the  help  of 
dragoman  Navoni,  in  French  and  in  Turkish,  and  when 
it  was  finally  drawn  up,  according  to  Rhind's  own  report, 
Reis  Effendi  "signed  and  sealed  the  treaty  in  Turkish  and 
I  did  the  same  with  the  French  translation,  and  we  ex 
changed  them."  Thereupon  the  original  Turkish  version, 
together  with  a  copy  of  the  French  translation  as  signed 
by  the  American  commissioners  —  President  Jackson 
had  appointed  Captain  James  Biddle  and  David  Offley 
together  with  Rhind  —  and  several  English  translations 
were  transmitted  to  Washington.  The  treaty  actually 
approved  by  the  Senate  was  one  of  the  English  versions. 

Before  the  ratifications  were  exchanged  the  American 
charge  d'affaires  at  Constantinople,  David  Porter,  re 
ceived  word  that  the  French  version  was  not  exactly  in 
agreement  with  the  Turkish.  Porter's  simple  method  of 
correcting  this  discrepancy  was  to  sign  a  document,  also 
in  the  Turkish  language,  accepting  the  Turkish  version  of 
the  treaty  without  reserve;  and  when  the  translation  of 
this  document  reached  Washington  nothing  further  was 
said. 


88        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Indeed,  the  treaty  rested  in  peace  until  1868,  when  the 
American  minister,  acting  according  to  the  English  ver 
sion,  clashed  with  the  Turkish  authorities  in  the  interpre 
tation  of  Clause  IV,  regarding  jurisdiction  over  American 
citizens  —  in  this  case  two  who  had  been  arrested  and  im 
prisoned  for  alleged  offenses  against  the  Turkish  Govern 
ment.  The  English  version  read: 

Citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  quietly  pursuing 
their  commerce,  and  not  being  charged  or  convicted  of  any 
crime  or  offence,  shall  not  be  molested;  and  even  when  they 
may  have  committed  some  offence  they  shall  not  be  arrested 
and  put  in  prison,  by  the  local  authorities,  but  they  shall  be 
tried  by  their  Minister  or  Consul,  and  punished  according  to 
their  offence,  following,  in  this  respect,  the  usage  observed 
towards  other  Franks. 

When  our  Government  proceeded  to  obtain  exact 
translations  of  this  clause,  it  was  found  that  the  Turkish 
version  did  not  contain  the  words  "arrested"  or  "tried," 
although  the  phraseology  made  clear  that  American  cit 
izens  were  not  to  be  imprisoned  in  Turkish  prisons,  but 
punished  through  their  minister  or  consul.  Consequently, 
the  Turkish  authorities  could  arrest  but  not  imprison, 
could  try  but  not  inflict  punishment. 

The  Turkish  Government  would  not  recognize  as  accu 
rate  any  of  the  translations  the  United  States  presented. 
When  asked  to  present  a  translation  of  its  own,  how 
ever,  the  matter  was  gradually  put  in  abeyance. 

In  1862  our  minister,  E.  J.  Morris,  concluded  another 
treaty  with  the  Porte,  entitled,  as  was  the  first  one,  "A 
Treaty  of  Commerce  and  Navigation,"  which,  by  its 
Article  XX,  was  to  remain  in  force  twenty-eight  years 
unless  either  party  saw  fit  to  abrogate  at  the  end  of  four 
teen  or  twenty-one  years.  In  January,  1874,  the  Turkish 


OUR  TREATY  OF  1830  89 

Government  gave  notice  to  our  Department  of  State  of 
its  desire  to  terminate  the  treaty,  following  this  notice 
up  with  another  communication  to  the  same  effect  in 
September,  1875.  Although  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
such  notice  was  to  be  permissible  not  earlier  than  June, 
1876,  nothing  was  said  in  Washington  regarding  the  un- 
timeliness  of  these  communications,  and  in  his  Annual 
Message  of  December,  1876,  President  Grant  announced: 
"Under  this  notice  the  treaty  terminated  upon  the  fifth 
day  of  June  1876."  President  Cleveland,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  his  first  Annual  Message  nine  years  later,  ques 
tioned  the  official  termination,  but  added:  "As  the  com 
mercial  rights  of  our  citizens  in  Turkey  come  under  the 
favored-nation  guarantee  of  the  prior  treaty  of  1830  . . . 
no  inconvenience  can  result"  from  our  agreeing  to  the 
abrogation.  Thus  questions  of  jurisdiction  and  commer 
cial  rights  were  thrown  back  for  settlement  under  the 
Treaty  of  1830,  the  translation  of  which  was  and  has  re 
mained  in  dispute. 

Much  of  this  confusion  was  due,  again,  to  the  slight 
actual  regard,  on  the  part  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  for  the 
terms  of  treaties.  In  this  attitude  they  had  been  en 
couraged  by  some  of  the  European  nations  —  most  of  all 
Russia  in  its  more  powerful  days  —  who,  in  return  for 
other  advantages,  were  not  insistent  upon  their  claims 
under  the  capitulations,  especially  the  claims  of  jurisdic 
tion  over  nationals.  So  far  as  concerned  the  United 
States,  this  loose  effectiveness  of  treaties  caused  constant 
misunderstanding  with  regard  to  the  handling  of  cases 
arising  under  them. 

With  every  question  that  came  up  under  the  disputed 
Clause  IV,  for  instance,  the  Turks  would  controvert  the 
right  of  our  consuls  to  try,  and  we  would  insist  on  that 
right.  The  battle  then  would  be  won  after  a  fashion  by 


90        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  side  with  the  most  persistence.  During  my  adminis 
tration  I  happened  to  be  the  winner  much  of  the  time, 
although  my  winning  merely  released  a  possibly  innocent 
person;  for  while  we  argued  about  a  trial  for  the  suspect 
he  lingered  in  jail,  and  after  I  got  his  release  the  Turks 
would  refuse  to  acknowledge  our  jurisdiction  and  not 
prosecute.  Innocent  and  guilty  alike  were  made  to  suffer 
in  jail,  and  alike  were  set  scot-free  upon  release.  Not  only 
that,  but  whenever  an  American  citizen  committed,  or 
was  alleged  to  have  committed,  a  crime  and  was  arrested 
by  the  Turkish  authorities,  it  created  irritation  and  a 
strain  of  our  relationship. 

The  only  other  treaty  then  negotiated  between  the 
Ottoman  Government  and  our  own  —  the  Treaty  of  Nat 
uralization  and  Extradition  —  had  also  been  a  subject  for 
discussion  and  dispute  ever  since  it  was  signed  by  Min 
ister  George  H.  Boker  in  1874.  When  it  was  concluded, 
the  Senate  refused  to  confirm  it  because  under  it  Ameri 
can  citizenship  was  forfeited  ipso  facto  by  the  return  of 
the  naturalized  citizen  to  his  native  land  and  his  remain 
ing  there  two  years;  but  the  Senate  amended  this  treaty 
by  changing  the  phraseology  of  the  clause  containing 
the  two-year  reference.  The  Sublime  Porte  accepted  the 
amendment  by  a  declaration  of  what  it  understood  to 
be  its  intent  and  significance,  which  interpretation  our 
Government,  in  turn,  would  not  accept. 

And  there  that  treaty  was  hung  in  1875,  although  our 
Government  that  year  made  an  appropriation  of  ten 
thousand  eight  hundred  dollars  for  presents  to  Turkish 
officials,  which  was  then  customary  on  concluding  a 
treaty  with  the  Porte. 

As  the  conditions  which  had  called  forth  the  treaty 
continued  to  exist,  I  was  instructed  to  renew  negotiations 


TREATY  OF  NATURALIZATION  91 

in  the  matter.  A  number  of  Christian  subjects  of  the 
Porte  —  some  Greeks  and  some  Syrians,  but  principally 
Armenians  —  in  order  to  free  themselves  from  Turkish 
jurisdiction  had  fled  to  the  United  States.  Here  they 
remained  long  enough  to  become  citizens,  and  from  time 
to  time  they  came  back  to  Turkey,  where  they  were 
charged  with  being  involved  in  alleged  conspiracies 
against  the  Turkish  Government.  Such  cases  arose  fre 
quently,  and  it  was  felt  that  the  Treaty  of  Naturalization 
and  Extradition  with  the  two-year  clause,  similar  to  the 
one  we  have  with  many  other  nations,  would  prevent  cit 
izens  of  the  Porte  from  using  naturalization  in  America 
as  a  means  of  escaping  liability  as  subjects  of  Turkey 
upon  their  return  there. 

I  addressed  myself  to  bringing  about  an  adjustment  of 
these  difficulties,  either  by  securing  a  new  treaty  or 
having  the  one  of  1874  accepted  as  amended.  A  long 
and  tedious  exchange  of  notes  on  the  subject  ensued. 
Finally  the  Porte  agreed  to  accept  the  Treaty  of  1874  as 
amended. 

Of  course  I  was  elated,  and  the  State  Department  was 
pleased.  That  the  treaty  was  one  very  much  desired  by 
our  Government  was  clear.  I  received  a  long,  flattering 
cable  of  congratulation  from  Mr.  Bayard,  and  a  letter  in 
similar  vein  from  Mr.  Adee,  saying  in  part: 

Whatever  may  be  the  outcome  of  these  negotiations,  you  are 
to  be  congratulated  without  stint  on  having  achieved  a  decided 
diplomatic  success  by  causing  the  Government  of  the  Porte 
to  recede  from  the  position  which  it  took  in  1875,  with  respect 
to  the  Senate  amendments,  and  to  which  it  has  so  pertina 
ciously  adhered  ever  since,  until  you  wrought  a  change  of  heart 
and  induced  it  to  take  a  more  rational  view  of  the  subject. 
This  makes  it  far  easier  for  us  to  deal  with  the  question  now  as 
justice  and  equity  and  due  respect  for  the  rights  and  privileges 
attaching  to  American  nationality  may  demand. 


92        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Then  the  bubble  burst!  Under  my  instructions  I  had 
assured  the  Turkish  authorities  that  with  their  accept 
ance  of  the  amendments  of  our  Senate  the  negotiations 
in  the  matter  would  be  concluded,  and  all  that  would  be 
necessary  to  give  effect  to  the  treaty  was  the  proclama 
tion  of  the  President.  Instead,  however,  it  was  thought 
best  again  to  submit  the  terms  to  the  Senate,  as  fourteen 
years  had  elapsed  since  the  negotiation  of  the  original 
treaty.  Thereupon  some  of  our  leading  missionaries,  at 
the  instigation  of  prominent  Armenians  who  had  been 
naturalized  in  America  and  returned  to  Turkey,  opposed 
ratification,  and  no  further  action  was  taken.  It  was  a 
very  discouraging  situation,  for  many  annoying  cases 
constantly  came  up,  some  of  a  rather  serious  nature. 

I  might  add  that  ten  years  later,  when  I  was  again 
minister  to  Turkey,  I  was  instructed  to  renew  negotia 
tions,  but  the  Ottoman  Government  was  now  unwilling 
to  negotiate  at  all  on  this  subject,  and  we  were  left  with 
out  any  treaty  of  naturalization. 

There  were  one  or  two  interesting  special  matters 
that  came  up  during  this  mission.  Toward  the  end  of 
1887  Baron  Maurice  de  Hirsch  came  to  Constantinople 
to  adjust  some  financial  differences  with  the  Turkish 
Government.  His  railway,  connecting  Constantinople 
with  European  cities,  was  about  completed.  The  Turkish 
Government  claimed  that  he  owed  it  132,000,000  francs, 
a  claim  growing  out  of  kilometric  guarantees  and  other 
concessions. 

One  day  while  I  was  calling  on  the  Grand  Vizier, 
Kiamil  Pasha,  he  asked  to  introduce  some  one  to  me,  and 
forthwith  I  met  a  tall  and  slender  man  in  his  fifties,  dark 
eyes  sparkling  with  spirit  and  energy,  clean-shaven  ex 
cept  for  a  full  black  mustache,  dressed  rather  dudishly 


BARON  DE  HIRSCH  93 

in  a  cutaway  coat,  white  vest  and  white  spats  —  Baron 
de  Hirsch.  I  was  glad  of  this  opportunity,  for  I  had  often 
heard  of  him  and  his  great  philanthropic  activities.  We 
had  a  pleasant  conversation  about  things  in  general. 

A  few  days  later  I  took  dinner  with  the  Sultan.  He 
spoke  to  me  about  Baron  de  Hirsch  and  the  claim  of 
Turkey  against  him.  The  Turkish  Government  was  hard- 
pressed  for  funds  —  its  chronic  condition.  The  Sultan 
explained  that  for  some  time  efforts  had  been  made  to 
arrive  at  some  settlement,  and  that  it  was  now  proposed 
to  arbitrate.  The  Baron  had  suggested  first  the  French 
and  then  the  Austrian  ambassador  as  arbitrator,  but 
neither  was  satisfactory  to  His  Majesty;  he,  however, 
had  much  confidence  in  my  judgment  and  impartiality, 
so  that  he  had  counter-suggested  my  name  to  the  Baron, 
which  was  satisfactory  to  the  latter;  and  they  had  agreed 
to  pay  me  an  honorarium  of  one  million  francs. 

I  assured  the  Sultan  that  I  was  much  complimented 
by  his  request,  but  I  would  have  to  consult  the  Secretary 
of  State.  He  told  me  he  had  already  requested  the  Turk 
ish  minister  at  Washington  to  inquire  the  views  of  the 
Department,  and  that  Mr.  Bayard  had  said  there  was  no 
objection  to  my  acting  as  arbitrator.  But  I  said  I  would 
have  to  communicate  with  Mr.  Bayard  personally  and 
would  let  His  Majesty  hear  from  me  in  the  course  of  a 
few  days. 

I  cabled  Mr.  Bayard  and  learned,  as  the  Sultan  had 
said,  that  there  was  no  objection  to  my  acceding  to  the 
latter's  wishes  and  accepting  the  honorarium  if  it  ap 
peared  to  me  advisable.  Upon  giving  the  proposal  careful 
consideration,  however,  I  felt  it  would  not  be  wise  for  me 
to  comply  with  the  Sultan's  request,  much  as  I  should 
have  liked  to  please  him.  Any  transaction  with  the  Turk 
ish  Government  involving  money  was  open  to  suspicion 


94        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

of  improper  methods  and  bribery.  Had  I  as  arbitrator 
made  a  decision  disappointing  to  the  Turkish  Govern 
ment,  I  should  certainly  have  fallen  under  such  suspicion, 
and  I  deemed  it  improper  to  assume  an  obligation  which 
might  throw  the  American  legation  into  a  false  light. 

I  advised  Secretary  Bayard  accordingly  and  frankly 
told  the  Sultan  I  could  not  accept.  I  added,  however, 
that  while  I  would  not  accept  an  honorarium,  I  should  be 
glad  to  act  as  mediator  to  see  whether  a  satisfactory  ad 
justment  could  not  be  brought  about  between  the  Baron 
and  the  Grand  Vizier,  which  offer  the  Sultan  accepted. 

As  the  negotiations  went  forward,  the  Baron  and  the 
Grand  Vizier  had  frequent  disagreements  and  alterca 
tions.  Each  of  them  would  come  to  me  with  his  grievance, 
and  I  would  give  my  opinion  and  bring  them  together 
again.  Finally  there  arose  a  legal  question,  and  this  was 
submitted  to  Professor  Gneist,  the  famous  German 
authority  on  international  law.  Upon  his  decision  the 
Baron  finally  paid  the  Turkish  Government  22,000,000 
francs. 

During  these  negotiations,  which  lasted  several  months, 
an  intimate  friendship  developed  between  the  Baron  and 
his  wife  and  Mrs.  Straus  and  myself.  They  often  took 
family  dinner  with  us.  They  were  declining  official  invi 
tations  because  of  the  recent  death  of  their  only  child, 
Lucien.  The  Baroness  was  an  exceptionally  fine  woman, 
learned  and  able,  whose  principal  aim  in  life  seemed  to 
be  to  find  ways  of  being  most  helpful  to  others.  In  the 
quarters  of  the  poor,  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  her  short, 
trim  figure,  dressed  in  deep  mourning,  was  familiar.  Her 
face  had  an  attractively  benign  expression.  A  story  re 
garding  her  activities  in  connection  with  the  construc 
tion  of  her  husband's  railroad  was  characteristic  of  her. 


DE  HIRSCH  PHILANTHROPIES  95 

In  a  village  near  Constantinople  a  number  of  houses 
belonging  to  the  poor  had  to  be  torn  down  to  make  way 
for  the  railway  station.  The  work  was  to  be  done  with  the 
understanding  that  the  Turkish  Government  would  com 
pensate  these  people,  but  evidently  no  such  consideration 
was  forthcoming.  A  number  of  those  thus  dispossessed 
came  to  the  Baron  to  complain,  but  he  answered  that  it 
was  the  Government's  responsibility,  not  his.  On  hearing 
of  this  the  Baroness  informed  her  husband  that  she  did 
not  propose  to  let  the  railroad  cause  unhappiness  to 
people,  that  it  would  probably  be  a  long  time  before  the 
Government  paid  the  compensation,  if  ever,  and  that 
she  insisted  on  paying  these  people  out  of  her  own 
private  fortune  so  they  could  at  once  build  new  houses 
and  be  happy.  Then  and  there  she  carried  out  that  pro 
gramme. 

The  Baron  spoke  to  me  of  his  own  benefactions  and 
said  he  purposed  during  his  lifetime  to  devote  his  fortune 
to  benevolent  causes.  His  philanthropy  up  to  that  time 
had  been  bestowed  mainly  in  Russia,  but  he  was  desirous 
of  doing  something  for  the  Russians  who,  because  of  the 
oppression  resultant  from  the  Ignatieff  laws,  were  emi 
grating  to  America.  They  had  been  persecuted  and  were 
poor,  and  he  wanted  to  enable  them  to  reestablish  them 
selves. 

I  was  familiar  with  the  conditions  of  these  Russian 
immigrants,  because  prior  to  my  coming  to  Turkey  I  had 
been  in  close  relationship  for  several  years  with  Michael 
Heilprin,  author  of  a  number  of  scholarly  works  and  one 
of  the  chief  editors  of  Appleton's  Encyclopaedia.  He 
worked  untiringly  on  behalf  of  these  new  arrivals,  col 
lecting  money  for  them  and  aiding  them  personally  in 
numerous  ways.  I  think  his  untimely  death  was  due 


96        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

primarily  to  his  generous  expenditure  of  energy  in  this 
way.  I  mentioned  Heilprin  to  the  Baron  and  said  I  would 
write  him  for  suggestions  how  best  the  immigrants  might 
be  helped. 

When  I  heard  from  Heilprin  I  forwarded  the  letter  to 
the  Baron,  together  with  a  list  of  men  who  had  done  most 
in  the  way  of  benevolent  work  for  the  Jews  of  New  York. 
Prominent  on  that  list  were  Meyer  S.  Isaacs,  president  of 
the  United  Hebrew  Congregations;  Jesse  Seligman,  pres 
ident  of  the  Hebrew  Orphan  Asylum;  Jacob  H.  Schiff, 
who  was  connected  with  a  number  of  our  charitable  enter 
prises;  and  my  brother  Isidor.  The  Baron  subsequently 
communicated  with  Mr.  Isaacs  and  some  others,  and  out 
of  their  arrangements  grew  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund 
and  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Trade  School.  Later  the  Baron 
ess,  upon  conferring  with  Mrs.  Straus,  endowed  the 
Clara  de  Hirsch  Home  for  Working  Girls. 

Neither  my  wife  nor  I  wish  to  claim  any  credit  for  the 
founding  of  the  de  Hirsch  benevolent  institutions.  We 
were  simply  the  medium  through  which  these  came  into 
being.  We  never  even  suggested  the  nature  of  them.  We 
only  gave  the  requested  information  regarding  the  need 
for  such  institutions. 

But  to  come  back  to  Constantinople  and  its  railroads. 
During  1888  the  question  of  a  railroad  from  Constanti 
nople  to  the  Persian  Gulf  was  much  agitated,  especially 
by  the  Germans.  The  Grand  Vizier  several  times  brought 
up  the  subject  in  conversation  with  me,  asking  me  to  help 
him  get  in  communication  with  some  reliable  American 
railroad  builders.  He  assured  me  that  the  Turkish 
Government  would  give  more  favorable  terms  to  a  group 
of  Americans  because  the  project  would  then  be  free  from 
the  political  complications  that  might  ensue  if  a  road 


OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 
Constantinople,  1888 


TURKISH  RAILWAY  CONCESSIONS       97 

through  the  heart  of  the  empire  were  controlled  by 
Germany  or  any  other  European  power. 

William  K.  Vanderbilt  was  in  Constantinople  at  the 
time.  He  had  arrived  in  his  yacht,  which  was  larger  than 
most  yachts  that  came  through  the  Dardanelles,  so  it  was 
stopped  until  I  could  procure  for  him  a  special  permit 
from  the  Sultan  to  proceed.  At  the  Sultan's  request,  I 
spoke  to  Vanderbilt  about  the  railroad  and  introduced 
him  to  the  Grand  Vizier.  But  he  was  on  pleasure  bent 
and  not  inclined  to  take  up  the  cares  and  burdens  involved 
in  such  an  undertaking. 

Of  course  it  was  apparent  that  if  American  capitalists 
and  railroad  builders  with  their  vast  experience  would 
take  up  the  construction  of  this  road  it  would  put  tre 
mendous  power  and  prestige  into  American  hands.  I 
suggested  that  Carl  Schurz  and  Henry  Villard  might  be 
the  proper  persons  to  undertake  this  gigantic  work.  Vil 
lard  's  name  had  figured  prominently  in  the  completion  ol 
the  Northern  Pacific;  he  was  close  to  Schurz,  and  they 
each  enjoyed  a  high  reputation.  Soon  thereafter  the 
Porte  submitted  the  matter  to  a  syndicate  of  German, 
British,  and  French  bankers,  and  the  famous  Bagdad 
Railroad  was  not  built  by  Americans. 

Early  in  1888  I  received  a  letter  from  an  old  friend,  the 
Reverend  William  Hayes  Ward,  eminent  Assyriologist 
and  scholarly  editor  of  the  "  Independent,"  respecting  an 
expedition  for  excavating  in  Babylonia  which  the  Rever 
end  John  P.  Peters,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
contemplated.  Under  Dr.  William  Pepper,  provost  of  the 
university,  Dr.  Peters  was  organizing  the  Babylon  Ex 
ploration  Fund,  which  would  base  its  work  on  the  rec 
ommendations  made  in  1884-85  by  the  Wolfe  expedition 
headed  by  Dr.  Ward  himself.  The  Wolfe  expedition, 
financed  by  Miss  Catherine  L.  Wolfe,  of  New  York  City, 


98        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

had  been  limited  to  reconnoissance  and  exploration* 
Shortly  thereafter  the  subject  was  brought  to  my  atten 
tion  officially  by  Mr.  Adee,  of  the  Department  of  State, 
who  wrote  me: 

We  find  ourselves  between  two  fires,  —  on  one  hand  is  the 
Philadelphia  organization  under  the  lead  of  Dr.  Peters,  which 
has  the  money,  and  on  the  other  is  the  Johns  Hopkins  enter 
prise,  which  has  the  most  solid  ballasting  of  Assyriological 
talent,  but,  unfortunately,  its  dollars  are  limited.  As  the  Johns 
Hopkins  people  deposit  all  their  collections  in  the  National 
Museum,  Professor  Langley  feels  kindly  disposed  towards 
them.  .  .  .  We  shall  probably  have  to  look  to  you  as  the  deus 
ex  machina  to  prescribe  a  solution. 

I  conferred  unofficially  with  Hamdy  Bey,  director  of 
the  Imperial  Museum  at  Stamboul,  himself  a  very  com 
petent  scientist  and  in  charge  of  all  excavations  in  Tur 
key,  who  informed  me  fully  regarding  the  Turkish  law 
governing  excavations,  among  other  things  that  a  permit 
for  making  them  had  to  be  obtained  from  the  Ministry 
01  Public  Instruction  (and  these  permits  were  not  easily 
obtained) ;  and  that  all  objects  discovered  were  the  prop 
erty  of  the  Turkish  Government,  the  excavator  being 
permitted  only  moulds  or  drawings  thereof,  except  pos 
sibly  in  the  case  of  certain  duplicates. 

To  save  time  in  the  matter,  I  brought  it  before  the 
Grand  Vizier,  who  promised  support  in  laying  the  project 
before  His  Majesty  the  Sultan,  with  the  view  possibly  of 
getting  an  irade  to  export  at  least  a  portion,  if  not  half, 
of  the  objects  discovered.  I  suggested  to  our  State  De 
partment  that  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  Johns 
Hopkins  work  together  and  operate  as  one  body,  so  that 
an  irade,  should  it  be  obtainable,  might  serve  for  the 
benefit  of  all  concerned. 

While  en  route  to  the  United  States  on  a  short  leave  of 


EXCAVATION  IN  BABYLON  99 

absence  I  met  Dr.  Peters  in  London.  He  handed  me  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  President  Cleveland  asking 
my  good  offices.  The  proposed  excavations  interested 
me  very  much,  and  I  promised  Dr.  Peters  I  would  give 
the  subject  immediate  attention  upon  returning  to  my 
post.  Meanwhile  I  instructed  the  charge,  Mr.  King,  how 
to  proceed  in  my  absence. 

Early  in  November  when  I  got  back  to  Constantinople 
I  asked  for  an  audience  with  the  Sultan  to  explain  the 
purposes  of  the  exploration  fund,  the  interest  of  the  va 
rious  universities  and  scientific  societies  in  it,  adding  that 
I  had  received  a  personal  letter  from  the  President  in 
regard  to  it,  and  that  if  he  would  give  the  permit  to  exca 
vate  it  would  meet  with  high  appreciation  in  my  country. 

It  was  the  custom  for  ministers,  as  distinct  from  am 
bassadors,  to  dismount  at  the  Palace  gate  and  proceed  to 
the  Palace  on  foot.  For  this  occasion,  however,  orders  had 
been  given  for  our  coming  in  at  the  Palace  door.  Here  I 
was  met  by  His  Highness,  the  Grand  Vizier;  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs;  and  the  Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies. 
After  some  fifteen  minutes  the  Grand  Vizier  and  the 
Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies  ushered  me  into  the  pres 
ence  of  His  Majesty.  A  private  audience  took  place, 
wherein  the  Sultan  seemed  very  affable  indeed.  He  said 
he  was  happy  to  welcome  me  back  to  my  post  and  hoped 
that  Mrs.  Straus  and  I  had  had  a  pleasant  trip. 

His  Majesty  then  led  the  way  to  the  brilliantly  illu 
minated  dining-hall,  where  a  military  orchestra  of  about 
thirty  members  was  playing.  I  was  seated  at  His  Maj< 
esty's  right,  with  the  dragoman  next  to  me,  and  the 
Grand  Vizier  was  at  the  left;  down  both  sides  sat  the 
pashas,  their  breasts  sparkling  with  diamond  orders. 
The  dinner  was  served  on  gold  and  silver  plates,  and  the 
menu  was  excellent  and  not  overburdened.  The  Sultan 


100       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

conversed  freely,  cheerfully,  and  apparently  without 
reserve. 

'After  dinner  we  went  with  him  to  a  play  in  the  little 
theater  on  the  Palace  grounds.  At  an  opportune  moment 
between  the  acts,  while  His  Majesty  questioned  me  re 
garding  some  matters  in  the  United  States,  I  referred  to 
the  excavations,  and  to  the  fact  that  several  representa 
tives  of  the  universities  were  awaiting  his  decision.  He 
graciously  stated  that  permission  would  be  granted,  and 
it  was  given  a  very  few  days  thereafter. 

Though  we  were  all  somewhat  disappointed  because 
the  permit  was  more  restricted  than  we  had  been  led  to 
expect,  it  enabled  Dr.  Peters  and  his  party  to  go  ahead 
with  their  work.  Dr.  Peters  has  left  a  full  account  of  the 
explorations  and  the  objects  discovered,  some  of  them 
dating  back  earlier  than  4000  B.C.,  in  his  two  volumes 
entitled  "Nippur,"  which  form  a  lasting  memorial  to  his 
services  in  the  cause  of  archaeology. 

Unfavorable  as  we  thought  the  permit  was,  I  was  ac 
cused  by  Theodore  Bent,  British  archaeologist,  writing 
in  the  "Contemporary  Review,"  of  bribing  Hamdy  Bey 
to  obtain  a  favorable  firman.  He  himself  had  dug  at 
Thasos  the  previous  year  and  had  run  into  difficulties 
with  the  Turkish  authorities,  resulting  in  the  seizure  of 
his  findings.  He  still  felt  revengeful  toward  Hamdy  Bey, 
and  the  knowledge  of  our  negotiations  for  a  permit  af 
forded  him  ground  for  a  scurrilous  attack  on  the  director 
of  the  museum,  who  was,  nevertheless,  a  man  of  fine 
character  and  high  repute. 

The  fact  really  was  that  the  Sultan  felt  somewhat 
under  obligations  to  me  because  of  my  sendees  in  another 
matter.  There  were  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  a  million  or 
more  Persians,  mainly  rug  dealers.  Many  of  them  had 
married  Turkish  women.  The  Sultan  claimed  that  when 


MY  RESIGNATION  ,  101 

a  Persian  in  Turkey  married  a  Turkish  subject  his  na 
tionality  followed  that  of  his  wife.  The  controversy  had 
gone  so  far  that  the  Shah  of  Persia  was  about  to  recall 
his  ambassador,  and  they  finally  agreed  to  submit  the 
matter  to  me  for  decision. 

I  took  the  subject  under  advisement  and  wrote  an  opin 
ion  in  accordance  with  the  universally  accepted  doctrine 
of  nationality  under  such  conditions,  namely,  that  upon 
marriage  nationality  followed  that  of  the  husband.  But 
instead  of  rendering  my  decision,  I  advised  the  Sultan 
what  it  would  be  and  suggested  that  it  would  probably 
make  for  better  relationship  if  he  would  anticipate  my 
decision  by  agreeing  with  the  Shah's  contention.  This 
he  appreciated.  At  the  same  time  it  relieved  me  from  the 
necessity  of  deciding  against  the  sovereign  to  whom  I  was 
accredited. 

Of  course  the  Shah's  ambassador,  Mohsin  Khan,  who 
was  practically  viceroy  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  desired 
to  confer  upon  me  Persia's  decoration,  the  Lion  and  the 
Sun,  set  in  costly  brilliants,  and  once  more  I  had  to  ex 
plain  our  custom  in  regard  to  such  things.  It  is  indeed  a 
wise  provision  of  our  Constitution  which  prohibits  Amer 
ican  officials  from  accepting  "any  present,  emolument, 
office  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever  "  without  the  consent 
of  Congress. 

The  election  of  1888  having  resulted  in  a  Republican 
victory,  I  tendered  my  resignation  to  the  new  President 
upon  his  taking  office,  as  is  customary  for  heads  of  mis 
sions  when  there  has  been  a  change  in  the  administration. 
I  was  unofficially  informed  that  numerous  letters  and 
memorials  had  been  received  in  Washington  from  individ 
uals  and  missionary  and  church  bodies,  asking  that  I  be 
retained  at  my  post;  Dr.  Pepper,  of  the  University  of 


102       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Pennsylvania,  and  several  other  university  heads  also 
joined  in  urging  my  retention.  But  I  wrote  Dr.  Pepper 
not  to  push  the  request,  as  I  could  no  longer  absent  my 
self  from  my  private  affairs.  The  main  matters  of  dif 
ference  between  the  two  Governments  had  been  settled, 
and  I  felt  justified  in  resigning,  even  had  Cleveland  been 
reflected,  for  I  could  riot  afford  to  stay  on  except  under 
pressure  of  patriotic  necessity. 

The  salary  at  the  Porte  barely  covered  my  house  rent. 
I  had  secured  the  best  available  house  with  facilities  for 
entertaining  and  the  returning  of  hospitalities,  and,  as  I 
have  mentioned  before,  such  functions  are  essential  for 
the  proper  relations  with  one's  colleagues  and  the  govern 
ment  to  which  one  is  accredited.  Besides,  it  is  important 
to  be  able  to  show  to  one's  nationals  the  hospitality  they 
expect  from  their  diplomatic  representatives,  especially 
in  the  case  of  prominent  visitors  who  bring  letters  from 
high  officials  at  home. 

Again,  "noblesse  oblige"  has  its  widest  and  most  em 
phatic  application  in  diplomacy.  Americans  are  supposed 
to  be  rich,  and  if  an  American  diplomat  does  not  show 
the  usual  hospitalities  he  is  charged  with  penuriousness, 
for  it  is  understood  that  a  man  who  is  not  able  to  live 
according  to  his  station  would  not  be  chosen  to  head  a 
mission.  That  his  pay  may  be  inadequate  for  the  dis 
charge  of  his  social  duties  is  not  generally  known.  When 
I  was  in  Washington  during  my  leave  of  absence  Mr. 
Cleveland  asked  me  how  I  got  along  on  my  salary,  and 
I  told  him  then  that  I  could  have  got  along  fairly  well  on 
four  times  the  amount,  for  I  had  spent  between  thirty- 
five  and  forty  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

A  few  days  prior  to  leaving  my  post  in  June,  1889,  I 
again  dined  with  the  Sultan.  I  had  often  done  so  during 
my  stay,  but  this  time  he  was  especially  gracious  and 


THE  SULTAN'S  FAREWELL  103 

unreserved.  He  expressed  great  regret  at  my  going,  say 
ing  that  at  no  time  during  his  reign  had  the  relations  of 
our  countries  been  more  agreeable,  and  that  he  and  his 
minister  had  had  every  confidence  in  my  candor  and 
fairness.  What  seemed  to  have  impressed  him  most  was 
my  handling  of  a  large  claim  by  an  American  which  was 
being  urged  through  the  legation.  I  carefully  examined 
this  claim  and  found  it  to  be  justified  neither  in  morals 
nor  in  law,  and  I  informed  the  Turkish  Government 
accordingly  that  I  had  withdrawn  it.  The  Porte  was  not 
accustomed  to  such  fair  treatment!  Of  course,  ever  after 
ward  when  I  presented  a  matter  it  was  believed  to  be 
justified. 

The  Sultan  held  the  government  pretty  firmly  in  his 
own  hands  —  too  much  so  in  fact  —  and  kept  himself 
very  well  informed  regarding  all  manner  of  things.  On 
this  evening  he  said  he  had  heard  of  the  great  disaster  and 
loss  of  lives  caused  by  the  Johnstown  flood  and  he  desired 
to  transmit  through  me  two  hundred  pounds  to  be  used 
for  relief  work.  I  cabled  the  amount  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  on  the  following  day  and  communicated  to  His 
Majesty  our  Government's  acknowledgment: 

Express  grateful  appreciation  of  the  President  and  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  for  the  Sultan's  generous 
relief  for  flood  sufferers. 

When  it  became  known  that  I  was  about  to  leave  my 
post  I  received  many  communications  expressing  regret. 
These  were  a  great  satisfaction,  especially  one  beautiful 
letter  from  the  missionaries  of  Constantinople,  signed  by 
Edwin  E.  Bliss,  I.  F.  Pettibone,  Joseph  K.  Greene,  H. 
S.  Barnum,  Charles  A.  S.  Dwight,  Henry  0.  Dwight,  and 
William  G.  Bliss. 


104.      UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

After  we  had  boarded  the  steamer  to  Varna,  homeward 
bound,  a  royal  caique  —  a  rowboat  of  the  graceful  lines 
of  a  Venetian  gondola  and  manned  by  six  oarsmen  — 
came  alongside  our  ship  and  one  of  the  Sultan's  aides  came 
aboard  to  present  to  Mrs.  Straus  the  highest  order  of  the 
Shefekat  decoration,  a  star  set  in  brilliants,  with  the 
special  request  of  His  Majesty  that  she  accept  it  as  a 
token  of  his  esteem  and  regard.  As  the  regulations  pro 
hibiting  me  from  accepting  such  honors  did  not  apply  to 
my  wife,  she  graciously  accepted  this  parting  gift  from 
Abdul  Hamid. 

And  so  farewell  to  Pera  and  the  beautiful  Bosphorus! 


CHAPTER  V 
HARRISON,  CLEVELAND,  AND  McKINLEY 

One  function  of  ex-diplomats  —  Russian  refugees  in  flight  to  America  — 
President  Harrison  remonstrates  with  Czar  against  persecutions  —  "A  decree 
to  leave  one  country  is  an  order  to  enter  another  "  —  Grover  Cleveland's  fight 
for  sound  money  —  His  letters  to  me  —  "The  Little  White  House"  —  Cleve 
land  under  fire  for  Van  Alen  appointment  —  Cleveland's  theatrical  tastes  — 
A  midnight  supper  of  delicatessen  and  beer  —  Cleveland's  first  meeting  with 
Charles  F.  Murphy,  of  Tammany  Hall  —  The  final  confidences  of  an  ex- 
President  —  A  pilgrimage  in  England  to  the  school  attended  by  Roger  Wil 
liams  —  I  join  the  fight  for  election  reforms  —  President  McKinley  summons 
me  to  Washington  to  discuss  plan  to  avert  war  with  Spain  —  A  proposal  to 
"rattle  the  Sultan's  windows"  —  McKinley  urges  me  to  again  accept  the 
Turkish  post  —  "Secretary  of  State  for  Turkey." 

HAD  diplomacy  been  a  career,  nothing  would  have  pleased 
me  more  than  to  continue  in  such  service  of  my  country. 
On  the  whole  I  cannot  say  that  I  advocate  changing  our 
system  as  to  a  more  permanent  service  for  the  heads  of 
missions.  Our  President  is  now  unhampered  to  select 
men  who  are  best  qualified  to  deal  with  the  problems  in 
hand  at  the  various  posts.  This  is  an  advantage  over  a 
system  that  tends  to  keep  in  office  ministers  and  ambas 
sadors  who  are  ill  equipped  to  bring  statesmanlike  qual 
ities  to  their  work,  though  they  may  be  past-masters  in 
routine  and  social  requirements.  But  it  would  be  well  if, 
on  a  change  of  administration,  removals  of  heads  of  mis 
sions  were  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  Of  course, 
after  four  or  eight  years,  the  return  of  our  diplomatic 
chiefs  from  foreign  fields  to  the  various  parts  of  our 
country  has  the  advantage  of  enabling  these  men,  by 
reason  of  their  experience  and  standing,  to  inform  and 
in  a  measure  guide  public  opinion  on  questions  concerning 
international  affairs. 

On  my  return  to  New  York  I  reentered  business,  but 


106       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

continued  to  take  a  deep  and  active  interest  in  public 
affairs.  I  spent  much  of  my  spare  time  lecturing  on  pub 
lic  questions  and  historical  matters. 

Waves  of  Russian- Jewish  immigrants  were  pounding 
our  shores  in  the  spring  of  1891.  In  Russia,  pogroms  and 
other  forms  of  mob  persecution  had  become  so  persistent 
that  refugees  were  arriving  in  pitiful  droves  at  our  ports. 
Sinister  circumstance  had  hurled  them  from  one  country 
into  another.  Many  had  been  compelled  to  abandon 
their  employment  or  even  their  own  established  busi 
nesses  in  Russia,  owing  to  the  enforcement  of  the  Ignatieff 
laws  and  the  consequent  prohibitions,  restrictions,  and 
persecutions. 

Determined  to  make  a  strenuous  protest,  a  small  com 
mittee  was  formed  of  prominent  Jews  from  New  York, 
Cincinnati,  and  Chicago,  to  lay  before  President  Har 
rison  the  pitiable  conditions  day  by  day  presented  by  the 
arriving  refugees,  many  of  whom  had  been  stripped  of  all 
their  possessions. 

Our  committee  was  headed  by  Jesse  Seligman,  and 
among  the  others  I  recall  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  of  New  York, 
and  General  Lewis  Seasongood,  of  Cincinnati,  besides 
myself.  The  President  listened  to  our  story  with  sym 
pathetic  interest,  and  then  turned  to  me  and  asked  what, 
in  the  light  of  my  international  and  diplomatic  experience, 
I  thought  should  be  done.  I  told  him  that  we  had  a  right 
to  remonstrate  with  any  nation  with  which  we  were  on 
friendly  terms,  as  we  were  with  Russia,  for  committing  an 
unfriendly  act  if  that  nation  by  special  laws  forced  groups 
of  its  people,  in  pitiable  condition,  to  seek  refuge  in 
another  country  and  that  country  our  own. 

The  President  agreed,  but  suggested  that  our  Govern 
ment  ought  to  have  before  it  an  official  report  or  state- 


RUSSIAN  REFUGEES  107 

ment  of  facts.  I  replied  that  this  could  easily  be  obtained 
by  sending  a  competent  commission  to  Russia  to  make 
inquiry.  Promptly  Colonel  John  B.  Weber,  immigration 
commissioner  at  Ellis  Island,  admirably  qualified  because 
of  his  experience  in  office  and  his  sympathetic  interest, 
together  with  Dr.  Walter  Kempster,  a  physician  known 
for  his  studies  of  the  pathology  of  insanity,  were  sent 
abroad  to  make  an  investigation  and  report.  Their  in 
vestigation  was  thorough,  and  they  embodied  their  find 
ings  in  a  report  that  is  a  model  of  its  kind.  It  was  the  first 
authentic  and  official  report  on  these  Russian  restrictions 
and  persecutions,  and  when  published  it  aroused  great 
interest  in  all  enlightened  parts  of  Europe  as  well  as  at 
home.  The  distinguished  English  historian,  Lecky,  refers 
to  it  in  his  own  work,  "Democracy  and  Liberty." 

George  Jones,  of  the  "New  York  Times,"  also  had  an 
investigation  and  report  made  by  his  London  corre 
spondent,  Harold  Frederic.  These  findings  the  "Times" 
published  as  articles  and  syndicated  them  to  several  other 
papers  of  the  country,  and  later  Frederic  brought  them 
out  in  book  form  under  the  title  "The  New  Exodus/, 

President  Harrison  was  much  impressed  with  the  re 
port  of  the  commission,  and  through  diplomatic  channels 
brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  Russian  Gov 
ernment.  His  reference  to  this  action  in  the  Annual  Mes 
sage  of  December,  1891,  is  such  a  clear  and  convincing 
recognition  of  humanitarian  diplomacy,  that  I  quote  it: 

This  Government  has  found  occasion  to  express,  in  a  friendly 
spirit,  but  with  much  earnestness,  to  the  Government  of  the 
Czar,  its  serious  concern  because  of  the  harsh  measures  now 
being  enforced  against  the  Hebrews  in  Russia.  ...  It  is  esti 
mated  that  over  one  million  will  be  forced  from  Russia  within 
a  few  years.  ... 

The  banishment,  whether  by  direct  decree  or  by  not  less 
certain  indirect  methods,  of  so  large  a  number  of  men  and 


108       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

women  is  not  a  local  question.  A  decree  to  leave  one  country  is, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  an  order  to  enter  another  —  some 
other.  This  consideration,  as  well  as  the  suggestions  of  human 
ity,  furnishes  ample  ground  for  the  remonstrances  which  we 
have  presented  to  Russia,  while  our  historic  friend&hip  for  that 
Government  can  not  fail  to  give  the  assurance  that  our  repre 
sentations  are  those  of  a  sincere  wellwisher. 

The  President's  Message  was  largely  quoted  and  fa 
vorably  commented  upon  in  this  and  many  European 
countries.  All  of  this  had  a  reaction  in  Russia  itself.  No 
matter  how  autocratic  a  government  may  be,  as  Russia 
then  was,  it  cannot  free  itself  from  "a  decent  respect  to 
the  opinions  of  mankind."  For  the  time  being  conditions 
in  Russia  for  the  Jews  were  ameliorated. 

In  the  fall  of  1891  I  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
State  Convention  at  Saratoga  and  was  a  member  of  the 
platform  committee.  One  of  the  questions  to  be  solved 
was:  What  should  be  our  position  regarding  silver? 
Cleveland's  statement  of  his  position  during  his  first 
term  had  lost  him  the  Presidency. 

Quite  purposely  Cleveland  had  boldly  accentuated, 
while  in  office,  the  outstanding  issues  then  before  the 
country  —  the  tariff  and  sound  money  —  without  any 
regard  to  political  consequences.  His  friend,  Richard 
Watson  Gilder,  has  said  of  him  in  this  connection: 1 

Every  once  hi  a  while  Cleveland  "threw  away  the  Presi 
dency,"  and  I  never  saw  him  so  happy  as  when  he  had  done  it; 
as,  for  instance,  after  the  tariff  message,  and  now  again  after 
the  silver  letter. 

Cleveland,  while  not  a  scholar,  was  ultra-conscientious 
and  had  an  honest  and  logical  mind  that  dealt  with  funda 
mentals.  He  would  "mull  over"  (that  is  the  very  phrase 

1  Graver  Cleveland,  A  Record  of  Friendship,  p.  33. 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  SOUND  MONEY       109 

I  have  heard  him  use)  a  question  until  he  got  to  the  bot 
tom,  and  there  he  would  start  to  build  up  his  premises  and 
arrive  at  his  decisions.  Because  of  the  surplus  accumulat 
ing  in  the  Treasury  he  had  been  impressed  more  and  more 
with  the  fact  that  the  taxes  and  the  tariff  should  be  re 
duced.  He  realized,  during  the  spring  and  summer  of 
1887,  that  the  rapid  increase  of  this  surplus  was  becoming 
a  menace  to  the  stability  of  our  financial  system,  and  he 
felt  it  his  duty  to  provide  some  means  for  averting  com 
mercial  disaster.  At  the  opening  of  Congress  that  year, 
instead  of  a  message  covering  all  of  the  Government 
activities  as  was  the  invariable  custom,  he  prepared  one 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  revenue  system  and  to  the 
necessity  of  reducing  the  tariff.  He  gave  much  care  and 
deliberation  to  this  message,  but  none  to  the  political 
consequences. 

Again  later,  when  the  free  coinage  of  silver  became  a 
topic  of  prominence,  the  Reform  Club  of  New  York 
invited  him  to  attend  a  banquet  at  which  this  question 
was  to  be  discussed.  Many  of  his  friends  advised  that  he 
remain  silent  on  the  subject,  in  order  not  to  mar  his 
chances  for  reelection.  Cleveland,  however,  accepted  the 
invitation  and  boldly  announced  his  position  regarding 
"the  dangerous  and  reckless  experiment  of  free,  unlimited 
and  independent  silver  coinage."  That  was  too  much  for 
the  machine  men  of  the  party;  the  note  of  Cleveland's 
doom  was  sounded  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other. 

After  his  retirement  partisan  bitterness  largely  disap 
peared,  and  it  soon  became  a  foregone  conclusion  that  he 
would  again  have  to  stand  for  the  Presidency.  Although 
he  had  occupied  the  President's  chair  only  one  term,  I 
doubt  whether  any  ex-President  of  our  time,  with  the 
exception  of  Roosevelt,  carried  with  him  into  private  life 


110       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

a  deeper  interest  or  a  higher  esteem  on  the  part  of  the 
great  body  of  the  people.  His  rugged  honesty  of  purpose 
and  determined  stand  for  the  best  principles  in  our  public 
life  were  more  and  more  appreciated  and  valued.  During 
the  entire  period  between  his  defeat  and  his  reelection  he 
was  the  most  distinguished  representative  of  his  party. 

When  the  silver  question  came  up  in  the  State  Conven 
tion  at  Saratoga,  a  few  others  and  myself  contended  for 
a  sound  money  plank.  We  met  with  opposition  from  a 
majority  of  the  platform  committee.  Richard  Croker, 
boss  of  Tammany  Hall,  had  not  up  to  that  time  bothered 
much  about  the  subject.  I  laid  before  him  the  reasons 
underlying  the  question  and  got  him  to  throw  his  power 
ful  influence  and  help  on  our  side,  and  we  succeeded  in 
the  end  in  incorporating  a  strong  sound  money  plank. 

Cleveland  expressed  his  satisfaction  with  that  accom 
plishment  in  the  following  note  to  me: 

816  MADISON  AVENUE 

Sept.  27,  1891 
MY  DEAR  MB.  STRAUS: 

I  have  a  suspicion  that  you  had  much  to  do  with  the  forma 
tion  of  the  silver  plank  in  the  platform  adopted  at  Saratoga. 
I  am  so  well  satisfied  indeed  that  you  thus  merit  my  thanks  as 
a  citizen  who  loves  the  honor  of  his  country  and  as  a  Democrat 
who  loves  the  integrity  of  his  party,  that  I  desire  to  tender 
them  in  this  frank  informal  manner. 

Yours  very  truly 

GROVER  CLEVELAND 

I  may  add  here  that  upon  his  retirement  in  1889  Cleve 
land  came  to  New  York  to  live,  and  the  pleasant  relations 
I  had  had  with  him  in  office  became  close  and  intimate. 

Early  in  July,  1892,  I  wrote  Cleveland  regarding  his 
position  on  the  tariff,  and  after  the  Chicago  convention 
which  nominated  him  for  the  Presidency,  I  received  the 
following  communication  from  him: 


THE  TARIFF  QUESTION  111 

GRAY  GABLES 
BUZZARDS  BAY,  MASS. 

July  25,  1892 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  wish  to  thank  you  for  your  letter  of  July  12,  and  to  express 
my  disappointment  that  while  in  New  York  last  week  I  did  not 
have  the  opportunity  to  converse  with  you  on  the  suggestions 
which  your  letter  contained.  You  cannot  fail  to  see  by  some 
expressions  in  my  address  in  reply  to  the  notification  com 
mittee,  that  thoughts  quite  similar  to  yours  have  occupied  my 
mind  in  regard  to  the  tariff  plank  in  our  platform.  I  am  ex 
ceedingly  anxious  that  there  should  be  no  misrepresentation 
of  our  true  position,  and  I  regret  exceedingly  that  there  should 
have  been  any  form  of  expression  adopted  which  makes  us 
liable  to  that  danger. 

I  shall  continue  to  give  the  subject  earnest  thought  and  when 
I  write  my  letter  of  acceptance  if  it  should  then  seem  to  be 
necessary  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  pursue  the  subject  further.  I 
have  heard  of  your  labors  at  Chicago  and  of  your  constant  and 
earnest  devotion  to  my  cause,  and  while  your  previous  conduct 
and  our  relations  have  been  such  as  to  lead  me  to  expect  such 
things  of  you,  I  am  none  the  less  gratified  and  beg  to  thank  you 
from  the  bottom  of  my  heart. 

With  the  kind  remembrances  of  Mrs.  Cleveland  to  you  and 
Mrs.  Straus,  in  which  I  heartily  join,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours 

GROVER  CLEVELAND 


In  1888  his  position  on  these  two  questions  caused  his 
defeat;  in  1892,  his  position  still  the  same,  these  very 
issues  were  the  dominant  factors  that  brought  about  his 
renomination  and  election. 

During  the  winter  before  his  second  term  of  office,  in 
order  to  get  some  rest  and  be  freer  than  was  possible  in 
New  York  from  the  constant  stream  of  visitors  and  place- 
hunters,  he  and  his  family  accepted  the  invitation  of  my 
brother  Nathan  to  occupy  a  little  frame  house  which  my 


UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

brother  had  bought  from  a  New  Jersey  farmer  in  connec 
tion  with  the  property  on  which  stands  the  Lakewood 
Hotel.  The  little  two-story  house,  surrounded  by  pines, 
simple  as  could  be,  was  renovated  and  painted  white, 
and  became  known  as  "the  little  White  House."  To  it 
from  time  to  time  Cleveland  summoned  the  people  with 
whom  he  wished  to  confer  —  the  leaders  of  his  party  with 
regard  to  policies  and  the  make-up  of  his  Cabinet,  and 
personal  friends.  He  had  no  secretary  and  wrote  all  let 
ters  with  his  own  hand. 

During  his  stay  at  "the  little  White  House"  he  sent 
for  me  several  times  to  talk  over  things  with  him.  On  one 
of  these  occasions  he  proposed  connecting  me  with  the 
Administration  in  some  way  that  might  be  agreeable  to 
me.  While  I  appreciated  highly  his  intention,  I  told  him  I 
felt  I  owed  it  to  my  brothers  to  stick  to  business  for  the 
next  few  years.  He  answered  that  he  would  have  to  have 
one  of  the  brothers  in  his  Administration.  I  learned  later 
that  in  his  mind  he  had  reserved  the  ministership  to 
Holland  for  Isidor.  At  about  this  time  Isidor  had  been 
nominated,  and  was  subsequently  elected,  to  fill  a  va 
cancy  in  Congress,  and  Cleveland  purposely  did  not  fill 
the  Dutch  post  until  after  that  special  election.  He  after 
wards  remarked  to  a  friend  he  and  Isidor  had  in  common, 
William  L.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia,  chairman  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  and  responsible  for  the 
Wilson  Tariff  Bill,  that  he  much  preferred  Isidor  in 
Congress  where  he  could  have  the  benefit  of  his  wisdom 
and  knowledge  in  financial  and  tariff  matters.  Indeed, 
my  brother  was  largely  responsible  for  Cleveland's  call 
ing  the  extra  session  of  Congress  for  the  repeal  of  the 
Sherman  Silver  Coinage  Act. 

Among  my  letters  from  Cleveland  at  this  period  I  have 
one  concerning  a  subject  that  caused  a  great  deal  of  stir 


THE  VAN  ALEN  APPOINTMENT         113 

and  unfavorable  comment:  the  appointment  of  James  J. 
Van  Alen,  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  as  ambassador  to 
Italy.  Van  Alen  was  a  very  rich  man.  He  was  the  son-in- 
law  of  William  Astor  and  the  personal  friend  of  William 
C.  Whitney,  the  real  manager  of  the  Cleveland  campaign, 
whose  appointment  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  not 
liked  by  the  "mugwump"  wing  of  the  party,  headed  by 
Carl  Schurz  and  others.  When  Van  Alen  was  appointed 
a  hue  and  cry  arose  from  the  idealists,  and  Cleveland's 
enemies  alleged  that  the  appointment  was  nothing  more 
than  a  reward  for  the  very  large  contribution  Van  Alen 
had  made  to  Whitney  for  the  campaign,  for  which  Whit 
ney  had  promised  this  position.  Schurz,  as  editor  of 
"Harper's  Weekly,"  wrote  a  savage  editorial  against 
Cleveland  on  this  subject,  and  in  a  letter  to  me  he  stated 
that  he  felt  Cleveland's  prestige  would  never  recover 
from  the  blow  he  had  struck  against  himself  in  making 
that  appointment.  I  wrote  to  Cleveland  about  the  matter 
and  how  it  was  regarded  by  some  of  his  friends,  mention 
ing  Schurz  among  others.  The  President  sent  me  the  fol 
lowing  reply: 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON 

Oct.  29,  1893 
MY  DEAR  MR.  STRAUS: 

Your  letter  was  received  to-day. 

I  need  not  tell  you  how  much  I  value  your  friendship;  and  I 
hardly  need  confess  how  touched  I  am  by  the  manifestation  of 
affection  afforded  by  the  solicitude  you  evince  in  the  Van 
Alen  matter.  I  am  amazed  by  the  course  pursued  by  some 
good  people  in  dealing  with  this  subject.  No  one  has  yet  pre 
sented  to  me  a  single  charge  of  unfitness  or  incompetency.  They 
have  chosen  to  eagerly  act  upon  the  frivolous  statements  of  a 
much  mendacious  and  mischievous  newspaper,  as  an  attempt  to 
injure  a  man  who  in  no  way  has  been  guilty  of  wrong.  I  leave 
out  of  the  account  the  allegation  that  his  nomination  was  in 
acknowledgment  of  a  large  campaign  contribution.  No  one 


114       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

will  accuse  me  of  such  a  trade  and  Mr.  Whitney's  and  Mr. 
Van  Alen's  denial  that  any  such  thing  existed  in  the  minds  of 
any  one  concerned,  I  believe  to  be  the  truth.  I  think  it  would 
be  a  cowardly  thing  in  me  to  disgrace  a  man  because  the  New 
York  World  had  doomed  him  to  disgrace.  Since  the  nomina 
tion  was  sent  in  I  have  left  the  matter  entirely  to  the  Senate, 
and  I  hear  that  the  nomination  was  confirmed  to-day.  This 
ends  the  matter.  I  am  entirely  content  to  wait  for  a  complete 
justification  of  my  part  hi  the  proceeding. 

I  am  sorry  you  regard  this  matter  as  so  unfortunate,  and  if 
anything  could  have  induced  me  to  turn  away  from  a  course 
which  seems  to  me  so  plainly  just  and  right,  it  would  be  my 
desire  to  satisfy  just  such  good  friends  as  you  have  always 
proved  yourself  to  be. 

I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  at  all  times. 

Yours  very  sincerely 

GROVER  CLEVELAND 

Van  Alen  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  but  on  Novem 
ber  20th  he  sent  in  his  resignation,  which  Cleveland  re 
luctantly  accepted,  but  urged  Van  Alen  to  reconsider  his 
decision,  as  his  (the  President's)  preference  was  emphat 
ically  that  Van  Alen  accept  the  post  and  by  the  discharge 
of  his  duties  vindicate  the  wisdom  and  propriety  of  his 
selection. 

During  the  second  term  I  saw  little  of  the  President. 
I  was  very  much  tied  to  business  and  went  to  Washington 
only  when  summoned  there  to  discuss  a  few  international 
questions  as  they  arose.  But  while  I  am  reminiscing 
about  my  relations  with  Mr.  Cleveland,  I  shall  jump 
ahead  about  ten  years  and  speak  of  a  visit  he  paid  me  for 
three  days  during  March,  1903.  He  was  to  deliver  an 
address  at  the  Henry  Ward  Beecher  Memorial  in  the 
Brooklyn  Academy  of  Music  on  Sunday  evening,  and  he 
arrived  from  Princeton  on  Saturday.  He  was  like  a  boy 
out  of  school. 


A  MIDNIGHT  SUPPER  115 

We  were  going  to  the  theater  on  Saturday  evening  and 
I  suggested  Justin  McCarthy's  "If  I  Were  King,"  played 
by  Sothern. 

"I  hope  it  is  not  sad,"  Cleveland  said.  "I  want  to  see 
it  from  start  to  finish";  and  with  a  smirk  he  added,  "for 
I  am  a  hayseed."  I  discerned  afterward  that  he  would 
rather  have  seen  a  comedy  or  vaudeville. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  theater,  many  in  the  audience 
recognized  Cleveland  and  heads  were  constantly  turning 
in  the  direction  of  our  box.  I  mentioned  it  to  him,  but  he 
said:  "Oh,  no,  they  don't  know  me  any  more."  After  the 
theater  we  had  a  supper  of  delicatessen  and  beer  at  home, 
which  I  knew  he  would  like,  and  he  amused  us  with  sev 
eral  funny  stories  and  mimicry.  My  wife  remarked  that 
he  might  have  made  a  success  on  the  stage,  and  he  replied 
that  his  friend  Joe  Jefferson  had  often  deplored  his  having 
missed  that  profession. 

Cleveland  gave  an  imitation  of  the  humorous  Con 
gressman  Campbell,  of  New  York,  who  used  to  come  to 
the  White  House  and,  pointing  to  the  room  occupied  by 
Cleveland,  ask  the  clerk:  "Is  His  Royal  Nibs  in?"  And 
sometimes  Tim  Campbell  made  requests  that  Cleveland 
had  to  deny  as  unconstitutional;  then  Tim  would  come 
back  with  "Oh,  I  would  n't  let  the  Constitution  stand 
between  friends!" 

At  dinner  on  Sunday  we  were  joined  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  G.  Carlisle,  my  brother  Isidor,  his  wife,  and  his  bus 
iness  associate,  Charles  B.  Webster.  Carlisle  had  been 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  Senators  in  Congress, 
former  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  a  close  friend  of 
Cleveland.  When  the  champagne  was  served  my  wife 
said  to  the  ex-President: 

"Does  Mrs.  Cleveland  let  you  drink  this?  You  know 
it  is  bad  for  your  rheumatism ! " 


116      UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

"No,  but  I  won't  tell  her,"  answered  Cleveland. 

They  compromised  on  one  glass. 

After  dinner  the  conversation  turned  to  the  bond 
loans  during  Cleveland's  second  Administration  —  the 
first  made  through  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Company  and  the 
subsequent  popular  loans  —  to  keep  the  gold  in  the 
United  States  Treasury.  The  ex-President  referred  to 
his  fight  against  the  silver  craze  and  said  he  had  been 
compelled  to  abandon  the  fundamental  issue,  the  tariff 
reform,  to  combat  that  dangerous  heresy. 

When  the  guests  had  gone,  Cleveland  wanted  to  know 
whether  we  would  like  to  hear  the  speech  he  was  to  de 
liver  that  evening,  and  of  course  we  assured  him  we 
should  be  delighted.  This  led  to  conversation  about 
Beecher,  and  I  showed  him  the  original  letter  that 
Beecher  wrote  him  in  1887  recommending  my  appoint 
ment  to  Turkey.  He  said  he  remembered  it  perfectly,  and 
it  was  the  thing  that  turned  the  scale  while  he  was  con 
sidering  whether  or  not  he  could  properly  appoint  a  per 
son  of  my  race  to  a  post  largely  concerned  with  the  pro 
tection  of  Christian  missions.  I  made  bold  to  request  the 
manuscript  of  his  Memorial  Address  to  file  with  my 
Beecher  letter,  and  he  kindly  consented  with  the  words: 
"Yes,  certainly;  they  are  kind  of  cousins." 

After  a  light  supper  we  drove  to  Brooklyn.  Cleveland 
liked  to  be  punctual  and  I  took  care  that  we  should  arrive 
at  the  appointed  hour,  7.45.  It  was  pouring  rain,  and 
Cleveland  anticipated  that  most  people  would  be  kept 
away;  but  when  we  entered  the  hall  it  was  packed  from 
pit  to  dome  and  several  thousand  persons  were  turned 
away.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  hundreds  crowded  onto 
the  stage  to  greet  the  ex-President,  showing  that  the  love 
and  admiration  of  the  people  had  in  no  degree  waned. 

The  next  morning  we  prevailed  upon  him  to  stay  an- 


CLEVELAND  AND  MURPHY  117 

other  day.  He  said  he  knew  I  had  a  speech  to  make  at 
Brown  University  and  that  its  preparation  would  engage 
my  time.  But  I  assured  him  the  speech  was  all  prepared 
and  the  subject  was  "Brown  in  Diplomacy."  He  asked 
me  to  read  it  to  him,  and  I  did.  He  pronounced  it  appro 
priate  and  fine,  which  gave  me  some  confidence  in  the 
success  of  the  occasion,  for  I  knew  he  was  not  given  to 
flattery  and  would  not  have  praised  the  speech  without 
meaning  it;  that  was  not  his  habit. 

He  had  to  go  to  Rockwood,  the  photographer,  at 
Thirty-Ninth  Street  and  Broadway,  so  I  went  with  him. 
He  said  he.  had  hundreds  of  requests  for  pictures  and 
wanted  a  new  one  taken  so  that  when  people  wrote  for 
them  he  could  refer  such  requests  to  Rockwood;  similarly 
he  had  had  some  pictures  made  by  a  Philadelphia  pho 
tographer.  These  arrangements  would  save  him  much 
trouble.  I  asked  Rockwood  to  take  a  special,  large  picture 
for  me.  He  brought  forward  his  larger  camera  and  took 
one  of  the  best  photographs  of  Cleveland  I  have  ever 
seen.  I  had  two  finished:  one  for  Mrs.  Cleveland  and  the 
other  for  myself,  and  it  now  hangs  in  my  library. 

For  luncheon  we  met  Isidor  at  Delmonico's.  At  the 
next  table  sat  Charles  F.  Murphy,  successor  to  Croker  as 
boss  of  Tammany  Hall,  who  requested  me  to  introduce 
him  to  Cleveland.  They  had  quite  a  chat,  after  which 
Cleveland  remarked:  "He  looks  like  a  pretty  clean  fel 
low." 

During  the  meal  our  guest  told  us,  with  language,  voice, 
and  manner  befitting  the  tale,  how,  when  he  was  being 
spoken  of  for  reelection  before  his  second  term,  he  met  a 
farmer  who  said  to  him:  "Now  if  you  will  go  on  sawin' 
wood  and  don't  say  nothin',  they  will  give  you  back  that 
job  in  Washington."  No  actor  could  have  given  a  more 
vivid  characterization  of  that  farmer. 


118       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

That  evening  we  went  to  Weber  and  Field's  Music 
Hall,  on  Twenty-Ninth  Street  near  Broadway.  Cleveland 
suggested  this  himself.  He  said  he  liked  to  be  amused  at 
the  theater  and  not  saddened  or  instructed. 

At  about  this  period  Cleveland  from  time  to  time 
showed  evidences  of  illness.  He  called  them  stomach  at 
tacks.  Whether  or  not  his  personal  friend  and  physician, 
Dr.  Joseph  D.  Bryant,  had  diagnosed  the  malady  as  more 
serious  I  do  not  know;  but  at  times  I  rather  inferred  that 
he  had.  Dr.  Bryant  made  it  a  point  to  accompany  Cleve 
land  on  several  of  his  hunting  and  fishing  expeditions, 
which  were  taken  not  alone  for  pleasure,  but  as  health 
measures,  for  a  change  of  air  and  the  outdoor  recrea 
tion. 

On  and  off  during  those  years  also,  when  the  family 
wanted  a  little  change,  they  occupied  "the  little  White 
House"  at  Lakewood.  Cleveland  liked  it  for  its  sim 
plicity  and  because  it  was  not  unlike  the  parsonage  at 
Caldwell,  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  born.  Early  in  June, 
1908,  while  the  Clevelands  were  at  Lakewood,  the  ex- 
President  sent  for  my  brother  Isidor;  he  desired  to  have 
a  talk  with  him.  He  seemed  to  wish  to  unburden  his 
mind. 

This  proved  to  be  the  last  time  he  spoke  to  any 
one  outside  of  his  immediate  family  while  still  in  the 
possession  of  all  his  faculties.  That  very  night  he  had 
another  attack  of  his  malady,  after  which,  as  I  was  told, 
his  faculties  seemed  to  go  under  a  cloud.  Two  weeks 
later,  on  June  24th,  the  country  was  shocked,  though  it 
was  not  unprepared,  to  learn  that  the  ex-President  had 
died  that  morning  at  his  Princeton  home. 

On  June  26th  Grover  Cleveland  was  laid  to  rest.  The 
funeral  was  private;  my  brothers  and  I  had  received  a 


FUNERAL  OF  CLEVELAND  119 

note  from  Mrs.  Cleveland  asking  us  to  be  present.  At 
his  home  we  met  about  one  hundred  of  his  personal 
friends.  It  had  been  his  express  wish  that  there  be  no 
eulogy  or  funeral  oration,  and  his  friend  Dr.  Henry  van 
Dyke  conducted  a  simple  service  at  which  he  read .  pas 
sages  from  Wordsworth's  poem,  "The  Happy  Warrior." 
In  a  carriage  with  Chief  Justice  Fuller,  Judge  George 
Gray,  of  Delaware,  and  Governor  Fort,  of  New  Jersey, 
I  accompanied  the  body  to  the  cemetery. 

For  Grover  Cleveland  there  were  no  longer  enemies  to 
traduce  and  vilify.  Perhaps  no  President  had  ever  been 
so  reviled  by  a  hostile  press  throughout  the  country  as 
this  great  man,  and,  strong  as  he  was,  these  attacks  quite 
naturally  pained  him.  Public  appreciation  of  men  who 
struggle  against  the  tide  for  righteous  things  is  often  de 
ferred,  sometimes  until  after  death.  In  his  case,  happily, 
it  came  while  he  was  yet  among  us  in  the  constantly  in 
creasing  manifestations  of  admiration,  love,  and  esteem 
by  the  people  of  the  country. 

I  have  mentioned  that  during  Cleveland's  second 
Administration  I  seldom  went  to  Washington.  At  that 
time  I  was  occupied  also  with  the  writing  of  two  books. 
I  was  not,  of  course,  relying  upon  my  pen  for  a  living. 
I  should  not  have  survived  long  if  I  had!  Historical 
writing  has  fittingly  been  called  the  aristocracy  of  litera 
ture;  it  requires  long  and  patient  investigation  and  yields 
meager  returns.  For  me  it  made  a  fascinating  avocation. 
My  "Roger  Williams,  the  Pioneer  of  Religious  Liberty," 
was  published  by  the  Century  Company  in  1894,  and 
"The  Development  of  Religious  Liberty  in  the  United 
States"  appeared  in  a  limited  edition,  published  by 
Philip  Cowen,  New  York,  in  1896. 

The  latter  was  a  slim  volume,  an  amplification  of  an 


120       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

address  I  had  delivered  in  New  Haven  before  the  Yale 
College  Kent  Club,  and  elsewhere;  the  former  grew  out 
of  studies  I  had  made  in  preparing  my  first  book,  "The 
Origin  of  Republican  Form  of  Government."  "Roger 
Williams"  was  well  received  and  had  a  generous  circula 
tion,  being  several  times  reprinted.  Brown  University, 
under  the  presidency  of  that  eminent  historian  and 
scholar,  E.  Benjamin  Andrews,  conferred  upon  me  the 
honorary  degree  of  Litt.D. 

When  I  was  again  in  London  in  1898  I  carried  out  a 
purpose  I  had  long  had,  to  visit  Charterhouse  School, 
earlier  known  as  Sutton's  Hospital  School,  where  Roger 
Williams  received  his  early  education.  I  met  the  Rev 
erend  Doctor  William  Haig  Brown,  master,  who  showed 
me  the  register  of  the  school  for  1624  containing  the  in 
scription  of  Roger  Williams.  When  he  saw  I  was  much 
interested  in  Roger  Williams  he  told  me  of  a  recent  life 
of  him  that  had  been  written,  which  he  considered  very 
fine  and  with  which  he  wanted  to  acquaint  me.  He  went 
to  his  library  on  the  floor  above,  and  when  he  returned 
he  handed  me  my  own  work!  (I  had  not  previously  told 
him  my  name.) 

I  observed  in  the  main  hall  of  the  school  a  number  of 
tablets  commemorating  distinguished  scholars  who  had 
attended  there.  There  were  represented  Thackeray, 
General  Shakespeare,  Archdeacon  Hale,  Sir  Henry 
Havelock,  and  several  who  were  sacrificed  in  the  Crimean 
War  and  the  Indian  Mutiny.  I  asked  Dr.  Brown  whether 
he  did  not  think  it  fitting  that  a  tablet  should  be  added 
in  memory  of  Roger  Williams,  and  said  that  I  should  be 
glad  to  defray  the  expense  thereof.  He  agreed,  and  I 
authorized  him  to  have  the  tablet  made.  He  employed 
Howard  Ince,  a  well-known  architect,  to  design  the  tab 
let,  which  contains  the  following  inscription: 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  CHARTERHOUSE       121 

IN  MEMORY  OF  ROGER  WILLIAMS 

Formerly  a  Scholar  of  Charterhouse 

Founder  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  and  the 

Pioneer  of  Religious  Liberty  in  America.  Placed  here  by 

Oscar  S.  Straus,  United  States  Minister  to  Turkey,  1899 

I  did  not  wish  my  name  on  it,  but  Dr.  Brown  quite 
definitely  preferred  it  so. 

Of  all  my  books,  the  Life  of  Roger  Williams  "  contains 
the  greatest  amount  of  work  in  the  way  of  research  and 
study;  but  the  amount  of  pleasure  it  gave  me  in  the  doing 
was  commensurate. 

In  politics  I  had  become  more  impressed  year  by  year 
with  the  importance  of  a  reform  in  our  electoral  system, 
especially  in  our  large  cities.  The  bosses  in  the  two  big 
parties  were  the  "invisible  powers"  who  dictated  the 
nominations.  Primaries  were  primaries  in  name  only, 
and  were  so  conducted  as  to  strengthen  the  power  of  the 
bosses.  In  Chicago  a  campaign  to  purify  the  primaries 
had  been  carried  on  by  the  political  committee  of  the 
Civic  Federation.  The  Federation,  of  which  its  organizer, 
Ralph  M.  Easley,  was  the  secretary,  now  enlarged  its 
scope  in  the  political  field  and  issued  a  "Call  for  a  Na 
tional  Conference  on  Practical  Primary  Election  Reform," 
in  the  name  of  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  lead 
ing  men  of  New  York,  Chicago,  San  Francisco,  and 
thirty-five  cities  in  between.  Prominent  in  this  list  I 
remember  Mayor  William  L.  Strong,  of  New  York;  ex- 
Mayor  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  of  New  York;  Darwin  R.  James, 
president  of  the  New  York  Board  of  Trade;  Andrew  B. 
Humphreys,  of  the  Allied  Political  Clubs  of  New  York; 
Mayor  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Boston;  Mayor  James  D. 
Phelan,  of  San  Francisco;  ex-Mayor  George  W.  Ochs,  of 
Chattanooga;  Albert  Shaw;  Nicholas  Murray  Butler; 


122       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Carl  Schurz;  Lyman  Abbott;  Lyman  J.  Gage;  Melville 
E.  Stone;  Myron  T.  Herrick;  Albert  J.  Beveridge;  Robert 
M.  La  Follette. 

The  meeting  was  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  New  York 
Board  of  Trade  on  January  20,  1898,  and  we  organized 
the  National  Primary  Election  League.  I  was  elected 
president;  Josiah  Quincy,  first  vice-president;  Charles 
Emory  Smith,  of  Philadelphia,  second  vice-president; 
Walter  C.  Flower,  of  New  Orleans,  third  vice-president; 
Ralph  M.  Easley,  secretary;  and  Darwin  R.  James, 
treasurer.  The  conference  gave  a  distinct  impetus  to 
primary  reform  all  over  the  country,  and  in  many  of  the 
States  led  to  the  passage  of  laws  providing  for  such  re 
forms. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1896  I  voted  for  McKin- 
ley,  despite  my  former  political  affiliations.  The  out 
standing  issue  between  the  Republican  and  Democratic 
Parties  was  the  money  question,  and  I  was  an  advocate 
of  sound  money. 

Early  in  the  new  Administration  our  relations  with 
Spain  were  rapidly  drifting  to  a  crisis  over  conditions  in 
Cuba.  My  friend  General  Stewart  L.  Woodford  was 
appointed  minister  to  Spain.  I  gave  him  a  letter  of  intro 
duction  to  Sir  Henry  Drummond  Wolff,  who  was  now 
British  ambassador  at  Madrid.  Wolff  was  very  sympa 
thetic  toward  America.  Woodford  later  informed  me 
that  the  letter  had  been  very  serviceable,  especially  as 
his  audience  had  been  delayed  for  several  weeks  on  ac 
count  of  the  Queen's  absence  from  the  capital.  He  very 
frankly  laid  before  Wolff  the  American  position  and 
attitude  with  regard  to  Cuba,  which  Wolff  asked  permis 
sion  to  detail  to  his  Government.  Based  on  that  informa 
tion  the  British  diplomatic  representatives  were  advised 


PLAN  TO  AVERT  WAR  WITH  SPAIN      123 

by  Lord  Salisbury:  "The  American  cause  is  absolutely 
impregnable;  govern  yourselves  accordingly." 

President  McKinley  frequently  invited  me  to  Wash 
ington  and  encouraged  my  writing  to  him,  especially  on 
international  matters;  and  my  letters  always  received 
prompt  reply  over  his  own  signature.  Accordingly  on 
March  12,  1898,  I  wrote  him  at  length  stating  that  per 
haps  the  impending  war  with  Spain  could  be  averted  if 
we  proposed  to  Spain  a  plan  of  suzerainty.  I  quote  from 
my  letter: 

We  have  no  need  for  Cuba;  our  destinies  point  to  the  Conti 
nent;  to  leave  it  to  make  conquests  will  weaken  our  rights,  .  .  . 
and  will  place  us  against  our  will  on  the  world's  chessboard, 
from  which  we  have  happily  kept  clear.  The  Cuban  insurgents 
are  imbued  with  a  spirit  of  belligerency,  but  have  neither  past 
training  nor  the  knowledge  to  maintain  freedom  and  to  accord 
to  each  other  individual  liberty. 

The  great  problems,  I  take  it,  are,  first:  to  stop  the  war; 
secondly,  to  find  a  solution  which  will  bring  independence  to 
Cuba,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  the  amour  propre  to 
Spain.  .  .  .  The  proposition  to  which  I  have  given  considerable 
thought  ...  is  the  following: 

That  we  insist  that  Spain  accord  and  Cuba  accept  the  posi 
tion  of  suzerainty  such  as  are  the  relations  between  Turkey  and 
Egypt.  This  will  give  Cuba  self-government,  and  will  at  the 
same  time  preserve  the  amour  propre  of  Spain  by  retaining  a 
semblance  of  a  claim  of  sovereignty  without  power  to  interfere 
with  self-government  on  the  part  of  the  Cubans.  .  .  .  We  could 
much  better  afford  to  help  Cuba  with  a  number  of  millions 
which  would  after  all  be  a  small  fraction  of  what  a  war  would 
cost  us,  ...  especially  when  the  end  attained  is  the  independ 
ence  of  Cuba,  and  attained  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  entail  upon 
us  unending  responsibilities  full  of  care  and  entangling  obliga 
tions. 

Immediately  upon  receipt  of  this  the  President  asked 
me  to  come  to  Washington  for  a  conference.  He  was  very 
much  interested  in  the  idea  and  requested  me  to  write 


124       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

out  the  plan  in  more  detail.  This  I  did.  I  discussed  with 
him  the  suzerainty  plan  as  developed  in  Europe  and  as 
it  was  working  in  Egypt.  I  expressed  the  opinion  that  as 
the  leading  nations  of  Europe  were  familiar  with  the  idea 
it  was  not  likely  to  meet  with  any  serious  objections. 
McKinley  was  impressed  with  the  feasibility  of  my  pro 
posal  and  was  in  favor  of  some  such  arrangement.  He 
said  he  was  having  difficulty  because  of  the  jingo  agita 
tion  in  Congress  and  the  storming  for  war  of  the  American 
press.  He  felt  when  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Inquiry  on 
the  destruction  of  the  Maine  was  made  public,  as  it  would 
be  in  a  few  days,  nothing  could  hold  back  Congress  and 
the  press,  and  the  Cuban  controversy  would  be  pushed  to 
an  issue. 

However,  he  immediately  communicated  the  plan  to 
Minister  Woodford,  who  brought  it  to  the  attention  of 
the  Spanish  Government.  General  Woodford  reported 
that  he  had  every  reason  to  believe  it  would  be  acceptable 
to  Spain.  But  meantime  things  moved  with  lightning 
speed  and  war  was  declared. 

Matters  in  Turkey  at  this  time  were  also  not  going  very 
srioothly.  At  a  conference  with  McKinley  one  day  he 
showed  me  a  communication  from  Dr.  James  B.  Angell, 
minister  at  the  Porte,  suggesting  that  the  only  way  to 
bring  Turkey  to  terms  was  to  send  warships  up  there  and 
"rattle  the  Sultan's  windows."  The  President  was  much 
disturbed.  He  felt  the  sending  of  warships  might  result 
in  another  incident  like  the  blowing  up  of  the  Maine.  He 
said  the  situation  had  worried  him  so  that  it  interfered 
with  his  sleep,  and  he  begged  me  to  accept  again  the  ap 
pointment  of  minister  to  Turkey,  declaring  with  convic 
tion  that  he  regarded  me  as  the  only  man  who  could  ad 
just  the  situation.  I  explained  to  him  frankly  how  I  was 


MINISTER  TO  TURKEY  AGAIN          125 

situated  in  regard  to  my  business  obligations  and  that 
it  was  very  difficult  for  me  to  drop  them  at  this  time;  but 
under  the  circumstances  as  he  had  stated  them  to  me  I 
felt  I  had  no  right  to  interpose  my  personal  affairs  as  a 
reason  for  refusing,  for  I  certainly  regarded  no  sacrifice 
too  great  to  make  in  the  service  of  the  country  when 
it  was  needed,  as  in  this  instance.  I  said  I  had  been 
too  young  to  shoulder  a  gun  in  the  Civil  War  as  he  had 
done,  but  with  a  full  understanding  of  my  situation  if  he 
should  feel  it  necessary  to  call  upon  me  I  should  be  at 
his  service. 

Dr.  Angell  was  a  distinguished  scholar  and  not  lacking 
in  diplomats  experience.  He  was  president  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  and  had  been  special 
envoy  to  China.  He  was  also  an  adviser  and  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions.  However,  in  some  public  utterance 
he  had  criticized  Turkey  unfavorably,  and  the  Porte  was 
having  its  revenge.  Every  request  Dr.  Angell  made  was 
declined;  exequaturs  were  refused  to  our  consuls  ap 
pointed  at  Erzerum  and  Harpoot.  Dr.  Angell  was  dis 
couraged  and  incensed.  He  was  about  to  resign. 

Finally  one  day  I  received  a  telegram: 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION 
WASHINGTON,  D.C. 

May  27,  1898 
HONORABLE  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 

New  York 

Remembering  our  talk  of  a  few  months  ago  I  would  be  glad  to 
have  you  accept  the  post  of  Minister  to  Turkey.  Dr.  Angell 
has  resigned  to  take  effect  15  of  August.  I  would  be  pleased  to 
nominate  you  before  Senate  adjourns. 

WILLIAM  McKiNLEY 

And  I  telegraphed  back  that  same  day: 


126       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

PRESIDENT  McKiNLET 
Executive  Mansion 

Washington 

Your  request  that  I  should  accept  the  post  of  Minister  to 
Turkey,  with  which  you  honor  me,  I  regard  as  a  command,  and 
deem  it  my  patriotic  duty  to  you  and  to  the  country  to  accept. 

OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 

Among  the  telegrams  and  letters  of  congratulation  I 
received  was  one  from  William  L.  Wilson,  then  the  presi 
dent  of  Washington  and  Lee  University  at  Lexington, 
Virginia,  reading:  "Washington  and  Lee  greets  you  as 
Doctor  of  Laws." 

The  National  Civic  Club  of  Brooklyn  gave  me  a  dinner 
and  reception,  presided  over  by  my  friend  and  college 
mate,  Frederic  W.  Hinrichs,  at  which  the  leading  speaker 
was  Dr.  St.  Clair  McKelway,  editor  of  the  "Brooklyn 
Eagle."  During  the  evening  a  letter  was  received  from 
my  former  chief  and  Secretary  of  State,  Thomas  F. 
Bayard,  saying: 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  associated  with  Mr.  Straus 
when  he  first  took  up  the  tangled  web  of  Turkish  diplomacy,  so 
that  few  persons  can  so  well  attest  as  I,  his  possession  of  those 
talents  and  high  personal  characteristics  which  give  him 
weight  everywhere. 

Ex-President  Cleveland,  who  was  prevented  from  being 
present  by  another  engagement,  wrote: 

I  would  be  glad  to  join  those  who  will  do  honor  to  Mr.  Straus 
. .  .  and  thus  show  my  appreciation  of  his  usefulness  and  the 
worth  of  his  good  example  in  recognizing  the  demands  of  good 
citizenship  and  responding  to  the  call  of  public  duty. 

And  there  were  also  messages  from  many  others,  includ 
ing  President  McKinley. 

I  did  not  leave  for  my  post  for  several  months.  Mean 
while  I  had  more  conferences  with  the  President  re- 


MINISTER  TO  TURKEY  AGAIN          127 

garding  the  Spanish  situation.  Early  in  August,  in  dis 
cussing  pending  Spanish  peace  negotiations,  he  wanted 
my  ideas  regarding  them  and  as  to  how  much  of  the  Phil 
ippines  we  should  take.  I  strongly  advised  that  we  take 
as  little  as  possible  —  nothing  more  than  a  naval  and 
coaling  station;  otherwise  to  appropriate  the  Philippines 
would  in  the  long  run  entail  endless  obligations  without 
commensurate  benefits.  I  told  him  I  believed  these  to  be 
the  views  also  of  many  of  the  more  thoughtful  citizens, 
and  that  I  had  spoken  with  a  number  of  prominent  men, 
such  as  ex-Postmaster-General  Wilson,  ex-Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  Carlisle,  and  Clifton  R.  Breckinridge,  for 
merly  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  all  of  whom 
were  of  like  opinion.  The  President  seemed  to  appreciate 
my  view,  but  again  feared  the  jingo  spirit  of  Congress. 
He  complained  also  of  the  attitude  of  the  Cuban  insur 
gents,  who  were  exaggerating  their  numbers  as  well  as 
their  demands. 

Turning  for  a  moment  to  my  appointment,  he  said: 
"I  don't  know  whether  you  know  it,  but  your  nomination 
has  been  received  with  more  praise  by  all  parties  through 
out  the  country  than  any  nomination  to  office  I  have 
made  since  I  am  President."  I  assured  him  I  was  grati 
fied,  but  realized  the  emphasis  this  put  upon  my  respon 
sibilities. 

Because  I  had  been  a  Cleveland  Democrat  my  appoint 
ment  by  a  Republican  President  had,  of  course,  created  a 
great  sensation  in  the  press;  it  was  heralded  as  a  step 
toward  the  merit  system  in  our  foreign  service. 

John  Bassett  Moore  was  now  assistant  Secretary  of 
State,  and  with  him  I  spent  several  days  in  the  prepara 
tion  of  my  instructions.  I  considered  him  even  then  the 
best  equipped  authority  on  international  law  in  the 
country,  and  I  thought  it  was  a  pity  his  services  could 


128      UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

not  be  retained  in  the  Department  of  State;  but  his  salary 
there  was  five  hundred  dollars  a  year  less  than  as  profes 
sor,  and  he  had  a  family  to  support.  He  told  me  that  the 
President  and  Secretary  Day  wished  him  to  accompany 
the  Peace  Commission  to  Paris,  and  subsequently  he 
went  as  secretary  and  counsel. 

While  I  was  with  the  President  for  a  final  conference 
a  week  before  sailing,  Attorney-General  Griggs  came  in 
all  aglow  and  announced  with  much  enthusiasm  that  he 
had  just  had  a  telephone  message  from  Justice  White 
(Associate  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
later  Chief  Justice)  that  he  would  consent  to  be  one  of  the 
members  of  the  Spanish  American  Peace  Commission. 
That  specially  pleased  the  President  because  White  was 
a  man  of  great  ability,  and  because  the  fact  that  White 
was  a  Catholic  might  make  a  more  favorable  impression 
upon  Catholic  Spain.  The  President  immediately  di 
rected  that  the  names  be  given  to  the  press.  Shortly 
thereafter,  however,  White  reconsidered  his  acceptance, 
for  reasons  which  were  not  made  public,  and  Senator 
George  Gray,  who  was  serving  as  a  member  of  the  Quebec 
Commission,  and  who  like  White  was  a  Democrat,  was 
prevailed  upon  by  the  President  to  accept  in  his  stead. 
The  other  members  were  all  Republicans.  The  commis 
sion  as  finally  constituted  was :  Secretary  of  State  William 
R.  Day,  Senator  Cushman  K.  Davis  (chairman  of  the 
Foreign  Relations  Committee  of  the  Senate),  Senator 
William  P.  Frye,  Senator  George  Gray,  and  Whitelaw 
Reid. 

There  was  considerable  clamor,  from  missionaries  and 
others,  that  we  send  warships  to  Turkey.  Of  this  I  en 
tirely  disapproved  and  so  told  the  President.  He  an 
swered  me:  "I  shall  be  guided  by  you;  I  shall  support  you; 
I  have  confidence  in  your  ability  and  foresight.  No  ves- 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE  FOR  TURKEY    129 

sels  will  be  sent  to  Turkey  unless  you  demand  them,  and 
then,  only  then,  will  they  be  sent.  And  when  you  get  to 
London  I  wish  you  to  see  Ambassador  Hay"  —  Hay  was 
about  to  return  to  take  up  the  post  of  Secretary  of  State 
—  "and  tell  him  that  I  have  not  only  constituted  you 
Minister  to  Turkey,  but  Secretary  of  State  for  Turkey, 
and  that  both  he  and  I  will  be  guided  entirely  by  your 
judgment  and  advice." 


CHAPTER  VI 
MY  SECOND  MISSION  TO  TURKEY 

Conferences  with  Ambassador  Hay  and  Dr.  Angell  in  London  regarding  Turk 
ish  matters  —  I  make  suggestions  for  coordinating  work  in  OUT  diplomatic 
service  —  With  Baroness  de  Hirsch  in  Vienna  —  Arrival  at  Constantinople; 
audience  with  the  Sultan  —  The  visit  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress  of  Ger 
many  —  Breaking  Turkish  passport  regulations  —  The  Porte  refuses  to  nego 
tiate  a  treaty  of  naturalization  —  The  indemnities  for  missionaries  at  Harpoot 
and  Marash;  the  Sultan  admits  claim  and  promises  to  pay;  I  obtain  irade  for 
rebuilding  college  at  Harpoot  —  The  Philippine  Mohammedans;  a  diplomatic 
romance  —  American  flour  cheapens  bread  in  Turkey  —  Aid  to  the  British 
ambassador  in  the  protection  of  Armenian  orphanages  —  A  renegade  Roman 
priest  — Lord  Rosebery  — Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell— The  Sultan  entertains 
American  tourists  —  His  Majesty's  only  smile  —  A  visit  to  Athens  —  Happy 
days  on  the  Bosphorus  —  The  Sultan's  gift  of  vases  —  Dr.  Theodor  Hertzl  — 
A  visit  to  Rome  —  I  return  to  Washington  and  conduct  negotiations  from 
there  —  LL.D.  from  Pennsylvania  University  —  I  end  my  mission. 

IN  London  I  had  several  conferences  with  Ambassador 
John  Hay,  who  was  shortly  to  return  to  Washington  as 
Secretary  of  State  in  the  place  of  William  R.  Day,  chosen 
to  head  the  Spanish-American  Peace  Commission  at 
Paris.  Mr.  Day  a  few  years  afterward  was  made  associ 
ate  justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  and  the 
duties  of  that  post  he  still  discharges  with  distinction. 

Mr.  Hay  and  I  went  over  in  detail  the  questions  at 
issue  in  Turkey  and  the  plans  I  proposed  for  their  adjust 
ment.  I  told  him  of  the  pressure  being  brought  upon  the 
President  to  send  warships  to  the  Bosphorus,  and  said  I 
regarded  such  a  course  as  mixing  up  in  the  Eastern  ques 
tion,  that  traditional  tinder  box  of  Europe,  aside  from 
the  possible  danger  of  another  incident  like  the  blowing- 
up  of  the  Maine.  Mr.  Hay  agreed  and  promised  to  sup 
port  me  to  the  fullest  extent  in  settling  matters  with 
Turkey. 


CONFERENCES  IN  LONDON  131 

I  also  met  Dr.  Angell  in  London  on  his  way  back  from 
Constantinople,  and  went  over  matters  with  him.  He 
told  me  what  a  fruitless  year  and  a  half  he  had  had  there 
and  how  he  was  made  to  feel  he  was  persona  non  grata. 
He  had  not  been  invited  to  dine  at  the  Palace  once  dur 
ing  his  entire  stay. 

Before  I  left  London  I  had  a  call  from  William  E. 
Dodge,  of  Phelps,  Dodge,  &  Company,  New  York,  and 
president  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  of  America.  He 
came  to  express  his  appreciation  for  my  making  the  per- 
jonal  and  business  sacrifice  to  go  to  Turkey  again.  He 
was  one  of  our  most  benevolent  citizens,  prominently 
connected  with  the  missionary  bodies  and  therefore 
deeply  interested  in  the  American  colleges  and  schools 
in  the  Ottoman  Empire. 

When  I  left  for  Constantinople  this  time,  there  were 
with  me,  besides  my  wife,  my  daughters,  Aline  and  Mil 
dred,  respectively  fourteen  and  fifteen  years  old;  my  little 
son  Roger,  six  and  a  half  years  old,  and  his  nurse;  my 
niece  Sissy,  daughter  of  my  brother  Nathan;  and  my 
nephew  Percy,  second  son  of  my  brother  Isidor,  who  was 
to  be  my  private  secretary.  Mildred  we  allowed  to  return 
from  Paris  to  continue  her  studies  at  Barnard,  as  we  were 
unable  to  find  a  suitable  school  for  her  in  either  England 
or  France.  We  had  sailed  for  Liverpool  on  the  S.S.  Lusi- 
tania  on  September  3d. 

My  friend  General  Horace  Porter  had  been  appointed 
ambassador  to  France,  and  while  in  Paris  I  dined  with 
him  several  times.  He  was  a  man  of  means  and  had  lo 
cated  the  embassy  in  a  magnificent  residence  in  one  of 
the  most  fashionable  parts  of  Paris.  There  we  met  among 
others  Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  United  States  Commissioner 
to  the  Paris  Exposition,  and  Mrs.  Peck;  also  William  F. 


132       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Draper,  ambassador  to  Italy,  who  with  Mrs.  Draper  was 
in  Paris  on  a  leave  of  absence. 

To  Messrs.  Porter  and  Draper  I  proposed  what  I  had 
felt  the  need  for  during  my  earlier  mission:  some  sort  of 
coordination  and  cooperation  among  our  various  diplo 
matic  representatives  throughout  Europe.  I  suggested 
we  might  have  conferences  from  time  to  time,  or  prevail 
upon  the  State  Department  to  keep  each  of  us  informed 
respecting  negotiations  between  the  Department  and  all 
the  others.  Much  of  this  material  would  be  of  interest 
and  value  to  us  in  connection  with  our  respective  em 
bassies  or  missions.  It  was  being  done  by  other  foreign 
offices.  The  British  Foreign  Office,  for  instance,  issues 
confidential  communications  in  the  form  of  blueprints, 
which  are  sent  to  the  heads  of  all  British  missions. 
During  my  previous  sojourn  at  Constantinople  my  col 
league,  Sir  William  White,  frequently  g~tve  me  the  benefit 
of  extracts  from  these  blueprints  referring  to  American 
matters.  They  were  very  informing  and  helpful. 

Porter  and  Draper  said  they  would  cooperate  with  me 
in  urging  the  State  Department  to  adopt  some  such 
scheme,  and  when  I  wrote  to  our  colleague  at  Berlin, 
Andrew  D.  White,  he  gave  similar  support.  However, 
when  I  suggested  the  idea  to  the  State  Department 
nothing  came  of  it.  Since  then  some  further  effort  has 
been  made  in  that  direction,  but  I  have  not  learned  to 
what  extent  this  desired  system  has  been  effected. 

We  went  on  to  Vienna  to  meet  Baroness  de  Hirsch, 
who  was  coming  from  her  estate  at  Eichhorn.  She  had 
put  her  beautiful  Paris  residence  on  the  rue  d 'Ely see  at 
our  disposal,  but  unfortunately  my  appointments  made 
it  impossible  for  us  to  avail  ourselves  of  her  hospitality. 
The  Baroness  looked  ill  to  me,  and  I  warned  her  against 


ARRIVAL  AT  CONSTANTINOPLE        133 

allowing  her  intense  occupation  with  benevolent  activi 
ties  to  wear  upon  her.  She  said  she  had  had  the  grippe, 
and  later  told  my  wife  that  her  physicians  feared  her 
ailment  might  be  more  serious.  In  spite  of  this,  however, 
she  went  right  on,  while  at  the  Hotel  Bristol  in  Vienna, 
with  conferences  with  her  almoners,  among  others  Ritter 
von  Gutmann  and  Baron  Giinzburg,  who  were  associated 
with  her  in  her  endowed  enterprises  in  Austria  and  else 
where.  Alas,  her  malady  was  more  serious  than  grippe, 
for  it  was  only  a  short  time  after  our  reaching  Constanti 
nople  that  her  family  informed  us  of  her  death. 

We  met  some  of  the  leading  Jewish  scholars,  artists, 
and  literary  men  while  in  Vienna:  the  architect,  Wilhelm 
Stiassny;  the  actor,  Adolf  von  Sonnenthal;  Dr.  Adam 
Politzer;  the  Hungarian  artists,  Leopold  Horowitz  and 
Isidor  Kaufmann;  Professor  David  Heinrich  Miller,  of 
the  Vienna  University;  and  the  attorney,  Dr.  Adolph 
Stein.  Herr  Stiassny  was  president  of  the  Jewish  His 
torical  Society,  and  at  a  meeting  of  that  body  at  which  I 
was  present  he  referred  in  glowing  terms  to  my  appoint 
ment,  saying  that,  amid  the  anti-Semitic  spirit  that  was 
taking  hold  of  Austria  and  other  European  countries, 
America  had  shown  by  my  appointment  that  no  race  or 
religious  distinction  existed  here,  which  could  not  fail  to 
have  an  influence  in  Austria  and  in  several  other  Euro 
pean  states. 

On  arriving  at  Constantinople  we  were  welcomed  by 
the  secretary  of  the  legation  and  acting  charge,  John  W. 
Riddle,  together  with  other  members  of  the  legation  and 
consulate  and  several  of  the  missionaries.  Mr.  Riddle, 
by  the  way,  had  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  legation  in 
the  interim  with  discretion  and  ability.  He  has  since 
filled  several  other  posts  most  creditably;  he  was  am- 


134       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

bassador  to  Russia  under  Roosevelt,  and  at  the  present 
writing  is  ambassador  to  Argentina. 

The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  the  Porte  now  was 
Tewfik  Pasha,  who  had  been  ambassador  to  Germany. 
He  spoke  German  better  than  French,  so  I  conversed 
with  him  in  the  former  language.  As  was  customary, 
I  left  with  him  the  letters  of  recall  of  my  predecessor 
and  a  copy  of  my  presentation  address.  I  was  informed 
that  the  Sultan  and  all  the  officials  at  the  Porte  were 
pleased  at  my  return,  because  they  knew  me  and  had 
every  confidence  in  me  both  personally  and  officially.  Of 
course,  these  remarks  may  have  been  diplomatic  polite 
ness,  but  events  seemed  to  show  some  sincerity  in  them. 
My  audience,  for  instance,  instead  of  being  delayed  for 
weeks,  was  granted  within  one  week  of  my  arrival;  and  in 
stead  of  being  accorded  the  lesser  formalities  of  a  minister, 
I  was  received  with  all  the  ceremony  accorded  an  am 
bassador:  four  state  carriages  were  placed  at  my  disposal, 
preceded  by  four  postilions  and  outriders;  a  detachment 
of  guards  rendered  military  honors  as  I  arrived  at  the 
Palace;  the  Sultan  was  attended  by  Osman  Pasha,  Fouad 
Pasha,  general-in-chief  of  the  Turkish  armies,  and  some 
thirty  other  high  civil  and  military  officers. 

After  the  formality  of  presenting  my  credentials  and 
making  my  address,  the  Sultan  reiterated  three  times 
that  he  felt  great  pleasure  in  welcoming  me  back,  as  my 
former  mission  had  given  him  much  satisfaction.  He  said 
that  he  knew  I  was  a  "gentleman";  and  that  is  the  only 
English  word  I  had  ever  heard  him  use. 

President  McKinley  had  authorized  me  to  arrange  for 
the  elevation  of  the  mission  at  Constantinople  to  an  em 
bassy,  as  by  the  Act  of  March  3,  1893,  provision  was 
made  for  the  appointment  of  ambassadors.  Up  to  that 
time,  based  on  the  idea  that  ambassadors  represented  the 


AUDIENCE  WITH  THE  SULTAN         135 

person  of  a  monarch  and  that  republics  should  not  thus 
be  represented,  we  had  had  only  ministers.  The  act  reads : 

Whenever  the  President  shall  be  advised  that  any  foreign 
government  is  represented,  or  is  about  to  be  represented,  in  the 
United  States  by  an  ambassador,  envoy  extraordinary,  minis 
ter  plenipotentiary,  minister  resident,  special  envoy,  or  charge 
d'affaires,  he  is  authorized,  in  his  discretion,  to  direct  that  the 
representative  of  the  United  States  to  such  government  shall 
bear  the  same  designation. 

The  initiative  for  sending  an  ambassador,  therefore,  rested 
with  the  foreign  power,  and  we  could  not  send  an  am 
bassador  to  Turkey  until  that  Government  accredited  an 
ambassador  to  us. 

During  my  audience  I  informed  the  Sultan  that  the 
President  had  said  he  would  be  pleased  to  raise  our  mis 
sion  to  an  embassy,  but  I  observed  that  His  Majesty 
did  not  take  kindly  to  the  suggestion.  He  replied  politely 
that  he  would  take  it  under  consideration. 

Among  my  colleagues,  Baron  Calice  still  represented 
Austria-Hungary.  Germany  was  represented  by  Baron 
Marschall  von  Bieberstein,  former  Prussian  minister,  a 
large  man  of  the  von  Moltke  physique;  he  died  later 
in  London  (1912)  after  a  short  service  as  ambassador  to 
Britain.  From  France  there  was  Paul  Cambon,  brother 
of  Jules  Cambon,  who  was  ambassador  at  Washington  at 
the  time  of  the  Spanish- American  War  and  continued  the 
Spanish  negotiations  after  our  rupture  with  Spain;  a 
little  while  after  my  arrival  in  Constantinople  Paul 
Cambon  was  transferred  to  London.  From  Great  Britain 
there  was  Nicholas  R.  O'Conor,  whom  I  met  during  my 
former  mission  when  he  was  consul-general  and  charge 
at  Sophia;  he  had  meanwhile  been  ambassador  to  Russia. 
And  from  Italy  there  was  Signer  Pansa.  Severally  they 
informed  me  that  since  my  first  mission,  ten  years  before, 


136       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  power  of  the  Ottoman  Government  had  been  more 
and  more  concentrated  in  the  Palace,  that  the  Sultan 
himself  was  the  "whole  show"  and  very  little  power  was 
left  at  the  Porte. 

Constantinople  was  all  agog  with  preparation  and 
excitement,  for  the  Emperor  and  Empress  of  Germany 
were  expected  on  October  17th!  (As  a  matter  of  fact, 
rough  weather  on  the  JSgean  caused  them  to  arrive  a  day 
late.)  The  main  streets  of  Pera  were  paved  anew,  and 
the  walls  surrounding  Yildis  were  newly  whitewashed. 
All  business  at  the  Porte  was  suspended.  A  Government 
official  told  me  that  the  visit  would  probably  cost  the 
Ottoman  Empire  not  less  than  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds !  One  of  the  residences  at  Yildis,  near  the  Palace, 
was  placed  at  the  Emperor's  disposal. 

As  is  customary  on  such  visits,  all  the  heads  of  missions 
left  their  cards  at  the  German  embassy  and  inscribed 
their  names  in  the  Emperor's  visiting  register.  Each  visit 
was  promptly  returned  the  next  day  by  von  Billow, 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  who  left  his  card. 

The  Emperor  and  Empress  drove  through  Pera  in 
state,  preceded  by  a  company  of  Turkish  lancers  and  fol 
lowed  by  numerous  officers  on  horses  and  in  carriages. 
They  rode  in  the  royal  victoria,  drawn  by  four  horses,  ac 
companied  by  numerous  outriders  in  gala  uniforms  and 
on  caparisoned  horses.  The  whole  procession  was  gor 
geous,  and  the  royal  pair  bowed  to  left  and  right  as  the 
crowds  in  the  streets  greeted  them. 

Some  time  after  midnight  on  October  20-21  the  door 
bell  rang  and  my  portier  brought  me  a  communication, 
just  received  from  the  Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies  at  the 
Palace,  inviting  Mrs.  Straus,  myself,  and  our  first  drago 
man  to  the  banquet  to  the  German  Emperor  and  Empress 


THE  EMPEROR  OF  GERMANY          137 

at  7.15  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  21st.  The  doyen  of 
the  diplomatic  corps  had  sent  suggestions  that  the  ladies 
wear  high  neck  and  long  sleeves,  as  the  Sultan  objected  to 
the  regulation  European  evening  dress.  The  ladies  ac 
cordingly  contrived  to  cover  their  necks  and  arms  with 
chiffons,  laces,  and  long  gloves.  It  proved  unnecessary, 
however,  because  the  Empress  and  her  ladies-in-waiting 
wore  the  usual  decollete. 

In  the  recollection  of  the  oldest  diplomats  present, 
this  banquet  was  the  most  brilliant  in  its  appointments 
that  had  ever  been  given  at  the  Palace.  More  than  one 
hundred  persons  were  there,  all  the  heads  of  missions  and 
the  leading  officials  of  the  empire.  The  approach  to  the 
Palace  for  quite  a  distance  was  illuminated  and  lined  on 
both  sides  of  the  way  with  rows  of  soldiers.  At  the  Palace 
entrance,  where  we  were  met  by  the  court  officials,  we 
passed  between  rows  of  magnificently  uniformed  Turkish 
and  German  officers,  each  wearing  his  full  regalia  of 
numerous  decorations. 

At  the  proper  time  we  were  ushered  into  the  audience 
room,  where  the  diplomats  and  their  wives  were  arranged 
in  a  circle,  the  ladies  on  one  side  and  the  gentlemen  on  the 
other.  When  the  Emperor  and  Empress  with  the  Sultan 
entered,  every  one  made  a  court  bow.  The  Sultan  and 
the  Emperor  then  engaged  in  conversation  through  an 
interpreter  in  the  center  of  the  circle,  while  the  Empress 
greeted  each  lady  individually.  Each  person,  as  was  the 
custom,  bowed  before  and  after  being  spoken  to.  When 
the  Empress  had  greeted  all  the  ladies  and  started  with 
the  gentlemen,  the  Emperor  started  with  the  ladies. 

When  he  came  to  Mrs.  Straus,  he  made  some  mention 
of  having  seen  her  queen  lately  and  that  she  was  as  beauti 
ful  as  ever.  Mrs.  Straus,  by  way  of  indicating  that  she 
was  from  the  United  States,  said,  "  I  suppose  Your 


138       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

esty  refers  to  Mrs.  McKinley";  but  the  Emperor,  evi 
dently  without  stopping  to  listen  to  what  was  being  said, 
clicked  his  heels,  made  his  courtesy,  and  greeted  the  next 
person.  It  seems  on  being  introduced  he  had  misunder 
stood  "Roumanie"  for  "Etats-Unis,"  especially  since 
Mrs.  Straus  was  next  to  the  Serbian  minister's  wife. 
Count  Eulenburg  later  explained  to  Mrs.  Straus  that  the 
Emperor's  hearing  was  a  little  defective. 

When  the  Emperor  reached  me,  he  at  once  expressed  a 
keen  desire  that  it  might  be  possible  for  him  to  visit  my 
country,  and  especially  our  great  shipyards,  such  as  those 
of  Cramp,  which  he  had  heard  were  wonderful.  He  then 
asked  me  whether  I  knew  our  ambassador  at  Berlin, 
Andrew  D.  White;  and  when  I  informed  him  that  Mr. 
White  had  been  a  friend  of  mine  for  a  number  of  years, 
he  said  a  few  complimentary  words  about  him. 

The  dinner  service  included  gold  plates  and  gold  knives 
and  forks.  The  waiters  wore  brilliant  red  and  gold  uni 
forms.  Between  courses  the  Sultan  and  the  Emperor 
conversed  by  means  of  the  interpreter  who  stood  behind 
them,  and  until  they  had  finished  talking  the  waiters  were 
patiently  holding  the  next  course  up  in  the  air  for  a 
cooling. 

After  the  dinner  we  again  formed  a  circle,  made  more 
courtesies  at  the  proper  time,  while  the  Sultan  himself 
went  round  and  greeted  and  shook  hands  with  each  one. 
That  ended  the  royal  dinner. 

During  the  meal  I  sat  next  to  the  Emperor's  personal 
physician,  Dr.  Lidhold.  He  had  held  the  same  position 
under  the  late  Frederick  III,  whom  he  characterized  as 
a  most  lovable  man.  He  said  William  II  was  active  and 
fond  of  amusing  himself,  and  enjoyed  constantly  travel 
ing  about,  which  was  not  so  pleasant  for  his  physician 
and  other  members  of  his  train.  He  admitted  that  the 


PASSPORT  REGULATIONS  139 

Emperor's  left  arm  was  quite  lame,  but  it  did  not  inter 
fere  much  with  his  movements  because  he  had  acquired 
such  dexterity  with  the  other.  He  added  that  the  mag 
nificent  attentions  of  the  Sultan  could  not  fail  to  have 
a  great  influence  upon  Germany's  attitude  toward  the 
Ottoman  Empire. 

The  visit  of  the  Emperor  at  this  time,  following  as  it 
did  the  dreadful  massacre  of  Armenians  only  a  few  years 
before  at  Harpoot  and  then  at  Constantinople  itself, 
was  very  much  resented  by  the  Christians  throughout 
Europe.  It  was  interpreted  as  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
Emperor,  for  his  own  gain,  to  reinstate  the  "bloody 
Sultan"  in  the  esteem  of  the  world.  It  was  stated  that 
the  Sultan  presented  the  Empress  with  a  very  costly 
string  of  pearls. 

One  of  the  four  outstanding  questions  included  in  my 
instructions  concerned  the  right  of  our  citizens  to  travel 
in  the  interior  of  Turkey.  Following  the  Armenian  mas 
sacres  of  1896  the  Turkish  Government  made  new  pass 
port  regulations,  and  all  foreigners  were  required  to  get  a 
tezkirah,  or  special  local  passport,  from  the  Sultan  before 
traveling  into  the  interior.  As  usual  in  Turkey,  asking 
for  a  permit  of  any  kind  was  one  thing;  getting  it  was 
quite  another.  This  regulation  proved  most  obstructive 
to  our  missionaries  and  those  of  Great  Britain  who  had 
missions  in  the  interior.  They  would  go  home  or  to 
Europe  on  a  leave  of  absence,  and  upon  returning  to 
Constantinople  would  be  held  up,  sometimes  for  weeks, 
on  account  of  these  tezkirahs,  which  were  not  definitely 
refused,  but  not  given,  which  practically  amounted  to 
the  same  thing. 

When  I  arrived  at  Constantinople  eight  Americans, 
bound  for  Erzerum  and  Harpoot,  were  being  held  up  in 


140       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

this  way.  One  of  them  was  Dr.  C.  F.  Gates,  president  of 
the  Euphrates  College  at  Harpoot.  After  exhaustive 
negotiations  with  the  authorities,  in  which  I  pointed  out 
the  fact  that  refusal  of  the  tezkirah  was  in  violation  of 
treaty  rights,  I  myself  gave  Dr.  Gates  a  permit,  signed  by 
me,  with  the  seal  of  the  legation  on  it.  I  then  informed 
the  Porte  of  my  action  and  said  that  if  any  injury  befell 
the  party  en  route  I  should  hold  the  Turkish  Government 
responsible.  I  also  sent  an  open  cable  to  our  State  De 
partment  informing  Secretary  Hay  what  I  had  done. 
My  British  colleague  was  a  bit  disturbed  when  he  heard 
of  it,  because  there  were  several  British  missionaries  in  the 
party. 

That  same  night  I  got  another  of  those  Turkish  mid 
night  messages.  After  apologizing  for  disturbing  me,  the 
messenger  brought  me  the  intelligence  that  my  cable  had 
been  held  back,  and  that  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
sent  word  that  instructions  had  been  given  for  the  full 
protection  of  the  missionaries  en  route  to  then*  posts. 
That  broke  down  the  passport  regulations,  and  a  very 
few  days  thereafter  I  received  notice  that  the  Council 
of  Ministers  had  taken  up  the  matter  and  ruled  that  the 
regulations  for  traveling  into  the  interior  should  be  re 
stored  to  what  they  were  before  the  Armenian  troubles. 

At  about  the  same  time  I  was  enabled  to  cable  to  our 
Department  of  State  that  I  had  obtained  the  Sultan's 
irade  granting  the  exequatur  for  our  consul  at  Erzerum. 

The  third  item  in  my  instructions,  the  Treaty  of 
Naturalization,  I  had  to  drop.  The  Porte  refused  to 
negotiate  this  question  because  of  the  failure  of  our 
Government  to  accept  the  terms  I  had  obtained  during 
my  previous  mission,  and  for  this  I  could  not  blame  them. 
As  during  my  earlier  mission,  when  matters  involving 


MISSIONARY  INDEMNITIES  141 

questions  of  naturalization  arose  I  succeeded  in  securing 
the  rights  of  the  persons  concerned  on  the  merits  of  each 
individual  case. 

Lastly  there  was  the  question  of  indemnities  due  mis 
sionaries  at  Harpoot  and  Marash  for  property,  real  and 
personal,  plundered  and  destroyed  during  the  massacres. 
This  was  a  delicate  matter,  because  the  Americans  were 
not  alone  in  making  claims  for  such  damage;  also  the 
Government  was  very  poor.  At  first  the  Porte  denied  all 
liability  and  refused  to  pay.  I  started  the  negotiations  in 
November,  1898,  and  the  process  proved  a  long  and 
tedious  one,  lasting  over  a  year.  But  step  by  step  progress 
was  made.  By  December  the  Sultan  admitted  the  claims 
and  promised  to  pay  as  soon  as  the  amount  was  fixed.  By 
February,  with  the  amount  still  unfixed,  he  had  decided 
how  payment  was  to  be  made:  he  would  buy  a  cruiser  in 
America,  to  the  cost  of  which  the  indemnities  could  be 
added,  enabling  him  to  make  payment  "behind  a  screen," 
which  he  preferred.  He  said  arrangements  were  being 
made  for  loans  through  a  bank  in  Paris  to  begin  install 
ments  on  such  a  contract.  By  early  September  the  irade 
for  the  purchase  of  a  ship  from  some  American  builder 
had  been  given,  and  plans  were  being  studied  to  determine 
the  type  of  ship.  By  the  end  of  the  month  the  Sultan 
again  assured  me  that  the  subject  was  receiving  his  at 
tention  and  would  be  settled  in  a  month  or  two. 

The  state  of  the  Turkish  finances  was,  of  course,  de 
plorable,  and  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  told  me 
that  the  Government  was  planning  to  apply  to  the  pur 
chase  of  the  ship,  money  coming  due  in  two  months  upon 
the  conversion  of  some  loans.  And  there  were  claims  from 
England,  France,  Germany,  and  Italy,  none  of  which  the 
Sultan  had  recognized  or  promised  to  pay. 


142       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Even  so,  I  planned  that  if  His  Majesty  showed  a 
disposition  to  deny  his  promise  I  should  offer  to  arbitrate 
and  thus  bring  matters  to  a  head.  That  would  put  him 
upon  one  of  two  horns  of  a  dilemma:  if  he  accepted,  it 
definitely  and  authoritatively  exposed  to  all  the  world 
the  horrible  details  of  the  massacre;  if  he  refused,  it  put 
him  in  the  position  of  having  declined  the  only  peaceful 
method  of  adjustment.  Tewfik  Pasha,  however,  in  the 
name  of  the  Sultan  continued  to  make  promises  of  pay 
ment,  and  the  matter  dragged  along  a  few  months  more. 

Having  settled  all  other  problems  that  were  irritating 
the  relations  of  the  two  Governments,  I  asked  for  leave 
to  visit  the  United  States.  I  planned  this  trip  so  as  to 
accentuate  our  displeasure  at  the  procrastination  of  the 
Ottoman  Government  in  settling  the  indemnities,  and 
notified  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  that  as  my  Govern 
ment  had  been  patient  for  over  a  year  I  should  now  return 
home  for  consultation  regarding  the  delay. 

Upon  my  return  to  the  United  States  I  carried  on  the 
negotiations  through  the  Turkish  minister  at  Washing 
ton  and  prepared  the  instructions  for  our  charge  at  Con 
stantinople  through  the  State  Department.  This  finally 
resulted  in  a  contract  with  the  Cramp  Shipbuilding  Cor 
poration,  with  an  additional  amount  of  ninety-five  thou 
sand  dollars  to  pay  the  indemnity  claims,  though  actual 
payment  was  not  made  until  June,  1901,  under  the  incum 
bency  of  John  G.  Leishman,  my  successor. 

During  the  course  of  the  indemnity  negotiations  I 
succeeded  in  obtaining  the  Sultan's  irade  for  the  rebuild 
ing  of  college  and  missionary  buildings  at  Harpoot  which 
had  been  injured  or  destroyed  during  the  massacres. 

Among  the  interesting  episodes  during  these  fifteen 
months  at  Constantinople  was  what  might  be  termed  a 


A  DIPLOMATIC  ROMANCE  143 

diplomatic  romance.  In  the  spring  of  1899  I  received  a 
letter  from  Secretary  Hay  enclosing  a  communication 
from  William  E.  Curtis,  Washington  correspondent  of  the 
"  Chicago  Record,"  and  one  of  the  best-known  syndicate 
writers  of  the  time,  who  was  well  informed  regarding  what 
was  going  on  in  both  official  and  unofficial  circles  at  Wash 
ington.  Curtis  reported  a  conversation  with  an  important 
official  of  the  Turkish  legation  wherein  he  learned  that 
since  the  Turko-Greek  War  the  Sultan  had  regained  au 
thority  and  respect  among  Mussulmans  throughout  the 
world,  and  his  advisers  thought  the  time  propitious  for 
him,  as  the  religious  head  of  Islam,  to  make  known  his 
authority  to  the  Mohammedans  of  the  Philippines,  Java, 
and  neighboring  islands.  The  official  had  gone  on  to  say 
that  our  victories  over  Spain  had  surprised  the  Sultan 
beyond  description,  and  he  was  anxious  to  cultivate  the 
friendship  of  a  government  whose  navy  could  sink  the 
enemy's  fleet  and  go  round  the  world  without  the  loss  of 
a  man. 

Curtis  thought  that,  in  view  of  our  present  minister's 
influence  and  our  good  relations  with  the  Turkish  Govern 
ment,  the  Sultan  under  the  circumstances  might  be  pre 
vailed  upon  to  instruct  the  Mohammedans  of  the  Phil 
ippines,  who  had  always  resisted  Spain,  to  come  willingly 
under  our  control.  Secretary  Hay  said  he  would  give  me 
no  advice  or  instructions,  but  would  leave  to  my  judg 
ment  what,  if  any,  action  I  might  deem  it  wise  to  take; 
that  if  I  could  succeed  in  getting  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  to 
send  a  message  to  the  Sultan  of  the  Sulu  Islands  which 
would  result  in  peaceful  and  harmonious  relations  between 
the  Sulu  Sultan  and  our  officers,  it  would  of  course  be  a 
great  accomplishment.  The  subject  interested  me  greatly. 
I  saw  the  possibility  of  rendering  an  effective  service, 
and  I  was  fascinated  by  the  romance  of  the  suggestion. 


144       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

When  I  went  to  Turkey  on  my  first  mission,  my  father 
placed  his  hands  upon  my  head,  gave  me  his  blessing, 
and  a  parting  advice  which  sank  deep  into  my  conscious 
ness:  "When  you  have  an  important  matter  coming 
before  you,  don't  act  promptly,  but  sleep  over  it."   My 
father's  death  in  January,  1898,  accentuated  this  advice 
in  my  memory,  and  when  I  received  the  Hay-Curtis 
letters  I  followed  it.   I  knew  very  little  about  the  Phil 
ippines.  I  doubt  that  our  State  Department  knew  much 
more.  The  library  at  Constantinople  had  nothing  on  the 
subject.    I  had  a  copy  of  the  testimony  taken  by  our 
commissioners  at  the  Paris  peace  negotiations,  but   it 
contained  only  vaguest  references.    But  one  of  my  col 
leagues  had  the  works  of  Elysee  Reclus,  the  French  geog 
rapher.   From  this  I  learned  that  the  Mohammedans  of 
the  Philippines  were  not  Shiites,  like  those  of  Persia, 
but  Sunnites,  and  therefore  recognized  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey  as  their  spiritual  head.  ,    u       . 

I  thought  about  the  problem  for  a  few  days,  and  then 
I  sent  a  note  to  the  Palace  that  I  should  like  to  have  an 
audience  with  His  Majesty,  as  I  had  some  private  com 
munication  to  make  to  him  that  I  believed  might  interest 
him,  for  it  would  enable  him  to  render  a  great  service  to  a 
section  of  his  co-religionists.  The  audience  was  promptly 
arranged,  and  I  gathered  that  the  Sultan  knew  very  little 
about  the  Sulu  Mohammedans.  He  asked  regarding  their 
sect.  I  told  him  they  were  Sunnites.  He  asked  whether 
they  made  pilgrimages  to  Mecca.  I  told  him  I  thought 
they  did,  the  same  as  those  of  Borneo. 

Then  a  curious  incident  occurred.  In  order  to  be  able 
to  take  up  the  matter  very  fully  with  the  Sultan,  I  had 
anticipated  all  kinds  of  questions  and  armed  myself  with 
pertinent  information.  Among  them  I  thought  he  might 
seek  some  assurance  as  to  our  Government's  attitude  to- 


THE  PHILIPPINE  MOHAMMEDANS      145 

ward  Mohammedanism,  and  to  reassure  him  I  had  come 
prepared  with  a  translation  into  Turkish  of  Article  XI  of 
an  early  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Tripoli, 
negotiated  by  Joel  Barlow  in  1796.  It  read: 

As  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America  is  not  in 
any  sense  founded  on  the  Christian  Religion;  as  it  has  in  itself 
no  character  of  enmity  against  the  laws,  religion,  or  tranquility 
of  Musselman;  and  as  the  said  States  never  have  entered  into 
any  war  or  act  of  hostility  against  any  Mehomitan  nation,  it  is 
declared  by  the  parties,  that  no  pretext  arising  from  religious 
opinions  shall  ever  produce  an  interruption  of  the  harmony 
existing  between  the  two  countries. 

When  the  Sultan  had  read  this,  his  face  lighted  up.  It 
would  give  him  pleasure,  he  said,  to  act  in  accordance 
with  my  suggestions,  for  two  reasons:  for  the  sake  of 
humanity,  and  to  be  helpful  to  the  United  States.  He 
added  that  he  hoped  his  services  would  be  appreciated, 
and  that  when  occasion  presented  itself  a  like  friendly 
spirit  would  be  shown  to  him.  He  knew  I  was  a  "gentle 
man  "  and  would  make  known  to  my  Government  the 
spirit  in  which  he  met  my  suggestions.  The  Mohamme 
dans  in  question  recognized  him  as  khalif  of  the  Mos 
lems  and  he  felt  sure  they  would  follow  his  advice. 

We  discussed  means  of  conveying  his  message  to  them, 
and  finally  decided  to  send  a  telegram  to  Mecca,  where 
the  Moslem  pilgrims  were  then  gathered,  to  ascertain  if 
any  Sulu  chiefs  were  there.  Before  transmitting  it,  His 
Majesty's  secretary  read  the  telegram  to  me  in  transla 
tion. 

Two  days  later  the  Sultan  invited  me  to  the  Palace  to 
inform  me  that  he  had  received  a  reply  that  two  Sulu 
chiefs  were  at  Mecca.  Another  telegram  was  then  formu 
lated  instructing  the  chiefs  in  the  name  of  the  Sultan 
that  a  definite  understanding  had  been  reached  with 


146       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  American  Elchi  Bey  (American  minister)  that  they 
would  not  be  disturbed  in  the  practice  of  their  religion  if 
they  would  promptly  place  themselves  under  the  control 
of  the  American  army;  that  because  of  the  Sultan's  deep 
concern  for  their  welfare  he  advised  and  instructed  them 
to  return  at  once  to  then*  people  to  prevent  any  blood 
shed. 

Immediately  I  cabled  Secretary  Hay,  that  he  might 
be  able  to  advise  General  Bates,  one  of  our  commanders 
in  the  Philippines.  The  negotiation  proved  to  be  very 
important  and  valuable  to  us.  Some  three  months  later 
our  Government  received  word  from  the  Philippines  that 
an  insurrectionist  leader,  Aguinaldo,  had  sent  emissaries 
among  these  Sulu  Mohammedans,  but  they  had  refused 
to  join  the  insurrectionists  and  had  placed  themselves 
under  the  control  of  our  army,  thereby  recognizing 
American  sovereignty. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  John  P.  Finley,  who  had  been 
governor  of  the  District  of  Zamboanga,  Moro  Province, 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  for  ten  years,  wrote  an  article 
for  the  April,  1915,  issue  of  "The  Journal  of  Race  Devel 
opment"  in  which  he  refers  to  this  incident: 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  with  Spain  the  United  States 
Government  was  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any  Moham 
medans  in  the  Philippines.  When  this  fact  was  discovered  and 
communicated  to  our  ambassador  in  Turkey,  Oscar  S.  Straus, 
of  New  York,  he  at  once  saw  the  possibilities  which  lay  before 
us  of  a  holy  war.  . .  .  He  sought  and  gained  an  audience  with 
the  Sultan,  Abdul  Hamid,  and  requested  him  as  Caliph  of  the 
Moslem  religion  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  followers  of  Islam  in  the 
Philippines.  ...  A  telegram  to  Mecca  elicited  the  fact  that 
they  not  only  visited  Mecca  in  considerable  numbers,  but  that 
at  that  very  time  there  were  Moros  from  Sulu  in  the  Sacred 
City.  .  .  .  The  Sultan  as  Caliph  caused  a  message  to  be  sent  to 
the  Mohammedans  of  the  Philippine  Islands  forbidding  them 


AMERICAN  FLOUR  IN  TURKEY         147 

to  enter  into  any  hostilities  against  the  Americans,  inasmuch 
as  no  interference  with  their  religion  would  be  allowed  under 
American  rule. 

President  McKinley  sent  a  personal  letter  of  thanks  to  Mr. 
Straus  for  the  excellent  work  he  had  done,  and  said  its  ac 
complishment  had  saved  the  United  States  at  least  twenty 
thousand  troops  in  the  field.  If  the  reader  will  pause  to  con 
sider  what  this  means  in  men  and  also  the  millions  in  money,  he 
will  appreciate  this  wonderful  piece  of  diplomacy  in  averting  a 
holy  war. 

There  was  one  commercial  trouble  to  be  attended  to, 
in  the  settlement  of  which  I  nevertheless  emphasized  the 
human  aspect.  Bread  was,  of  course,  one  of  the  main 
staples  of  the  people,  and  it  was  rising  in  price.  There 
was  a  shortage  of  flour,  yet  a  shipment  of  twenty  thou 
sand  bags  from  the  Pillsbury-Washburn  Flour  Company 
of  Minneapolis  had  been  rejected.  The  reason  given  was 
that  it  did  not  contain  a  sufficient  percentage  of  gluten 
and  elasticity. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  shipment  received  six  months 
before  had  had  the  effect  of  reducing  the  retail  price  of 
bread  about  thirty-three  per  cent.  Such  shipments  com 
peted  with  the  local  flour  mills,  whose  owners,  chiefly 
Greeks,  thereafter  paid  liberal  baksheesh  (tips,  or  bribe 
money)  to  have  the  flour  rejected. 

I  secured  expert  testimony  to  show  that  the  flour,  in 
stead  of  being  inferior,  was  far  superior  to  the  local  flour. 
I  made  the  issue  urgent  and  sent  an  open  telegram  to 
our  State  Department  that  the  flour  was  being  refused 
admission  in  distinct  violation  of  our  treaty  rights.  This 
had  the  effect  I  anticipated.  The  flour  was  admitted. 

The  result  of  this  negotiation  was  reflected  in  every 
household,  and  was  significant  especially  for  the  poorer 
people,  who  were  grateful  to  the  American  legation  and 
the  American  people  for  further  reducing  the  price  of 


148       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

their  bread.  After  this,  other  large  shipments  of  flour 
arrived  from  time  to  time  and  were  admitted  without 
difficulty. 

The  British  ambassador  came  to  me  one  day  to  ask 
whether,  in  view  of  the  success  I  had  had  in  opening  and 
protecting  American  schools,  I  could  give  him  some  as 
sistance  in  the  protection  of  the  orphanages  which  British 
benevolent  societies  had  established  following  the  Ar 
menian  massacres.  The  Duke  of  Westminster  had  called 
the  attention  of  Her  Majesty's  Government  to  the  Forte's 
ruthless  closing  of  a  number  of  these  orphanages. 

Although  it  was  not  a  matter  that  came  officially  under 
my  jurisdiction,  I  told  my  colleague  I  should  be  glad  to 
aid  in  every  way  possible.  I  called  on  the  Grand  Vizier 
and  explained  to  him  that  if  the  Government  persisted  in 
destroying  these  institutions  for  the  protection  of  orphan 
children,  it  would  have  a  prejudicial  effect  in  aggravating 
the  justified  horror  produced  in  America  as  well  as  in 
England  by  those  massacres.  I  stated  frankly  that  while 
this  was  not  an  American  question,  it  would,  none  the 
less,  from  a  humanitarian  standpoint,  create  a  disastrous 
impression  to  the  further  disadvantage  of  the  Turkish 
Government. 

We  got  the  desired  result.  It  so  pleased  my  colleague 
that  in  reporting  to  Lord  Salisbury  he  expressed  great 
appreciation  for  the  valuable  help  I  had  given  him.  This 
recognition  was  widely  published,  in  the  London  "Times" 
and  other  British  papers,  as  well  as  throughout  America. 
The  Germans  also  reaped  some  benefit,  for  several  of  the 
orphanages,  as  at  Palu  and  Diarbekir,  were  under  the 
supervision  of  their  nationals. 

Occasionally  in  the  City  of  the  Sultan  there  arose 


LORD  ROSEBERY  149 

strange  and  peculiar  incidents.  I  had  a  call  one  day  from 
Monsignor  Bonetti,  the  papal  delegate,  who  had  a  summer 
residence  near  mine.  He  said  it  had  been  reported  to  him 
that  a  Roman  priest  named  Brann,  who  had  left  his  posi 
tion  in  America  about  a  year  before  because  of  some  moral 
delinquencies,  had  arrived  in  Turkey  within  a  few  days. 
He  was  doubtless  under  an  assumed  name,  but  Bonetti 
had  heard  that  the  renegade  priest  was  among  our  mis 
sionaries,  and  requested  that  I  make  inquiry.  I  asked 
him  what  he  proposed  doing  should  the  priest  be  found. 
He  said  he  wanted  to  counsel  him  to  return  to  the  church. 
The  missionaries  with  whom  I  spoke  gave  me  every  assist 
ance,  but  the  priest  had  evidently  not  come  among  them, 
for  he  could  not  be  found. 

A  number  of  distinguished  people,  European  and  Ameri 
can,  visited  Constantinople  during  the  winter  of  1898-99. 
Lord  Rosebery  arrived  in  his  mother's  yacht  and  was  the 
guest  of  the  British  ambassador,  Sir  Nicholas  O' Conor. 
We  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  several  times  at 
dinner.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with  him  he  expressed 
great  admiration  for  America  and  said  that  at  one  time 
he  was  on  the  point  of  becoming  an  American.  I  remem 
ber  particularly  his  remark  to  the  effect  that  he  believed 
America  and  England,  by  cooperating,  would  control  the 
world  for  the  interests  of  the  world,  without  having  to 
fight  a  battle;  that  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  world 
were  in  their  hands,  and  sooner  or  later  it  must  come. 

We  talked  about  our  respective  forms  of  government, 
parliamentary  and  congressional.  He  thought  McKin- 
ley  wise  in  referring  all  questions,  during  and  since  the 
Spanish -American  War,  to  Congress.  To  quote  his  own 
words:  "He  is  sailing  on  unknown  seas,  and  it  is  wise  to 
let  the  representative  body  do  the  steering." 


150       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

He  asked  whether  I  was  an  ambassador  or  a  minister. 
I  explained  to  him  that  the  President  desired  to  raise  the 
mission  to  an  embassy,  but  as  the  law  stood  we  were  de 
pendent  upon  the  initiative  of  the  Sultan.  He  said  that 
during  his  incumbency  as  prime  minister  he  had  much  to 
do  with  having  the  United  States  name  an  ambassador  to 
London;  he  took  special  care  that  Great  Britain  should 
be  the  first  nation  to  send  an  ambassador  to  Washington 
and  to  receive  an  American  ambassador. 

He  spoke  in  a  complimentary  manner  of  Secretary  Hay 
and  said  he  should  have  remained  in  London,  especially 
as  it  seemed  to  be  his  preference.  He  spoke  of  the  am 
bassadorship  of  Edward  J.  Phelps  and  said  he  had  heard 
him  make  some  of  the  ablest  public  speeches  he  ever  lis 
tened  to;  they  were  effective  not  only  in  what  they  ex 
pressed,  but  in  their  reserve.  He  thought  public  speaking 
in  America  was  more  finished  than  in  England,  of  a 
higher  order  or  better  grounded  from  the  standpoint  of 
oratory:  "We  can't  speak  as  you  do." 

I  replied  that  one  had  only  to  point  to  him  as  an  ex 
ample  to  disprove  that  complimentary  comparison.  But 
he  thought  hardly  anybody  ever  read  his  speeches. 

Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  of  Philadelphia,  and  his  wife, 
together  with  the  great-grandson  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 
Philip  Schuyler,  and  his  wife,  came  to  Constantinople. 
We  saw  much  of  them.  The  Mitchells  had  just  lost  their 
daughter. 

Dr.  Mitchell,  who  was  regarded  as  the  leading  author 
ity  on  nervous  diseases  —  if  I  mistake  not  it  was  he  who 
first  introduced  the  rest  cure,  at  any  rate  so  far  as  Amer 
ica  is  concerned  —  was  very  anxious  to  see  something  of 
a  Turkish  household,  which  was  not  easily  possible  by 
reason  of  the  seclusion  of  Turkish  women.  It  happened 


DR.  S.  WEIR  MITCHELL  151 

that  Tewfik  Pasha,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  had 
often  spoken  to  me  about  the  illness  of  his  wife,  who 
seemed  to  be  suffering  from  some  nervous  ailment.  She 
was  a  German-Swiss  whom  he  had  married  while  am 
bassador  at  Berlin,  but  their  mSnage  was  kept  purely 
Turkish.  Here,  then,  was  my  opportunity  to  kill  two 
birds  with  one  stone:  I  should  satisfy  Dr.  Mitchell's 
curiosity  by  rendering  Tewfik  Pasha  a  service.  In  speak 
ing  to  the  Pasha  I  explained,  of  course,  that  Dr.  Mitchell 
would  accept  no  fee,  that  he  would  give  his  services  as 
a  favor  to  me  and  an  act  of  courtesy  to  him.  Dr.  Mitch 
ell  was  able  to  prescribe  with  excellent  effect  for  Mme. 
Tewfik,  and  the  Pasha  was  very  grateful  indeed. 

Dr.  Mitchell  and  I  went  to  the  museum  one  afternoon 
to  see  two  famous  marble  tombs  that  had  recently  been 
unearthed  at  Sidon,  upon  discovery  by  Hamdy  Bey, 
director  of  the  museum.  Both  these  tombs  were  supposed 
to  be  of  the  best  period  of  ancient  Greece.  One  was  known 
as  the  Alexander  tomb  because  it  portrayed  in  high  bas- 
relief  the  battle  of  Issus  and  also  a  hunting  scene,  in  each 
of  which  one  of  the  figures  was  identified  as  portraying 
Alexander.  At  first  some  scholars  believed  it  to  be  the 
tomb  of  the  monarch  himself,  but  that  seemed  not  to  be 
correct,  and  it  was  doubtless  the  tomb  of  one  of  his  gen 
erals.  The  other  tomb  was  of  equal  size  and  proportions, 
about  five  feet  high  and  ten  feet  long.  Round  its  four 
sides  it  had  a  number  of  figures  of  a  woman  in  various 
phases  of  mourning,  the  same  figure  with  varying  ex 
pressions.  This  ancient  work  of  art  appealed  to  the  be 
reaved  heart  of  Dr.  Mitchell  and  he  sat  before  it  for  quite 
a  while.  Later  he  wrote  an  "Ode  to  a  Lycian  Tomb," 
one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  of  his  poems.  He  sent  me 
a  copy  when  it  was  privately  printed,  and  subsequently 
it  appeared  in  the  "  Century  Magazine." 


152       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

The  inauguration  of  trips  to  the  Orient  by  the  Ham 
burg-American  and  the  North  German  Lloyd  Steamship 
Companies  frequently  brought  hundreds  of  Americans 
to  Constantinople  at  a  time.  In  March  the  S.S.  Augusta- 
Victoria  arrived  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  American 
visitors.  The  Sultan  was  most  gracious  to  them.  Through 
one  of  his  aides  he  asked  me  to  invite  them  to  Selamlik, 
after  which  he  arranged  a  luncheon  for  them  on  the 
grounds  of  the  ambassadorial  kiosque,  and  had  them  visit 
the  royal  stables.  When  they  left,  the  Sultan's  aide  carried 
on  board  the  ship  for  them  a  large  assortment  of  delicious 
Turkish  candies  and  cigarettes,  which  they  appropriately 
acknowledged  in  a  letter  that  I  transmitted  to  the  Palace 
for  them. 

From  time  to  time,  especially  when  the  weather  was 
fine,  I  attended  Selamlik,  as  was  customary  among  the 
diplomats.  On  one  very  beautiful  Friday  I  took  with  me 
my  little  son  Roger,  then  seven  years  old.  It  was  the 
Sultan's  birthday  and  the  pageant  was  exceptionally 
fine.  From  the  window  of  the  ambassadorial  kiosque 
Roger  leaned  out  as  far  as  he  possibly  could  to  get  a  good 
view  of  the  Sultan  as  he  passed  beneath  in  his  victoria. 
The  Sultan  bowed  in  acknowledgment  of  our  greeting, 
when  suddenly  Roger  realized  that  he  had  not  taken  off 
his  cap  and  pulled  it  off  rather  comically.  This  made  the 
Sultan  smile,  and  it  was  the  only  time  I  ever  saw  his 
habitually  sad  face  wreathed  in  a  smile. 

After  a  strenuous  winter,  replete  with  difficult  and 
trying  negotiations,  I  took  advantage  of  the  invitation 
of  M.  Paul  Stefanovich-Schilizzi,  a  philanthropist  of 
Greece,  to  visit  him  in  Athens  in  May.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  wealth  and  beloved  throughout  the  Near  East  by 


A  VISIT  TO  ATHENS  153 

reason  of  his  benevolence.  It  is  his  niece,  who  was  a  fre 
quent  guest  at  our  home,  who  recently  married  Eleutherios 
Venizelos,  the  famous  Greek  statesman. 

En  route  to  Athens  we  stopped  for  several  days  at 
Smyrna,  where  we  met  Kiamil  Pasha,  the  Grand  Vizier 
with  whom  I  had  so  satisfactorily  carried  on  a  number  of 
important  negotiations  during  my  first  mission.  He  was 
now  vali  at  Smyrna,  highly  regarded,  and  justly  called 
the  "grand  old  man"  of  Turkey,  being  about  seventy- 
five  years  old.  Amid  the  corruption  of  his  time  no  one 
ever  questioned  his  honesty.  He  had  been  grand  vizier 
several  times.  He  spoke  English  fluently,  doubtless  ac 
quired  in  his  youth  at  Cyprus,  where  he  was  born. 

He  deplored  the  hopeless  condition  of  affairs  at  Con 
stantinople,  where  all  the  power  had  gradually  been 
concentrated  at  the  Palace.  Thus  the  grand  vizierate 
became  a  post  without  power,  which,  he  explained,  did 
not  interest  him  any  longer.  Besides,  he  did  not  agree 
with  the  Sultan's  methods,  though  he  was  thoroughly 
loyal  to  Turkey.  His  sympathies,  as  between  the  con 
tending  powers,  were  with  Great  Britain;  he  believed 
good  relationship  with  her  was  the  surest  guarantee  for 
the  welfare  of  his  country. 

From  Smyrna  we  took  a  ship  for  Piraeus,  a  sixteen-hour 
trip.  There  we  took  a  carriage,  instead  of  the  train,  to 
Athens.  We  stayed  at  the  Hotel  Grande  Bretagne,  which 
was  owned  by  our  friend  Stefanovich.  It  was,  and 
doubtless  still  is,  the  leading  hotel  on  the  square  near  the 
King's  palace,  and  from  the  balcony  of  our  rooms  we 
had  a  clear  view  of  the  Acropolis. 

This  was  our  second  visit  to  Athens.  We  had  been 
there  ten  years  before  as  guests  at  the  beautiful  residence 
of  Dmitri  Stefanovich-Schilizzi,  brother  of  Paul,  where 
we  were  sumptuously  entertained;  we  dined  at  the  palace, 


154       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

attended  several  functions  there,  and  met,  at  various 
social  gatherings,  the  leading  people  of  the  city.  This 
time,  however,  we  came  for  rest  and  recreation;  we  made 
no  official  calls,  but  spent  the  six  days  or  so  visiting 
places  of  interest,  chiefly  the  excavations  that  were  being 
made,  and  the  museum. 

Returning  we  took  a  steamer  direct  for  Constantinople. 
We  had  learned  that  the  Montenegrin  portier  in  charge  of 
our  house  at  Pera  had  a  slight  case  of  smallpox,  so  we 
went  directly  to  our  summer  home  at  Yenikeui  on  the 
Bosphorus,  about  a  mile  distant  from  Therapia  where 
most  of  my  colleagues  had  then-  summer  residences.  We 
had  succeeded  in  securing  a  house  that  was  a  veritable 
palace  and  admirably  arranged  for  entertaining,  so  thai 
we  were  well  able  to  reciprocate  the  attentions  of  our 
colleagues  and  extend  proper  hospitalities.  A  wealthy 
Greek  had  constructed  and  owned  this  mansion,  but  on 
account  of  some  questionable  dealings  with  the  Palace 
involving  large  sums  of  money,  he  was  a  fugitive  from 
Turkey. 

The  house  was  surrounded  by  a  park  of  its  own,  front 
ing  on  the  Bosphorus.  There  were  pomegranate  and 
magnolia  trees  in  bloom,  under  which  we  took  our  lunch. 
We  had  a  launch  that  I  named  the  Franklin,  and  it  was 
one  of  the  fastest  on  the  Bosphorus,  so  that  within  an 
hour  I  could  readily  be  at  the  Porte  to  transact  the  busi 
ness  of  the  legation,  although  things  are  more  quiet  dur 
ing  the  summer. 

Altogether  that  summer  was  thoroughly  delightful. 
My  brother  Isidor  and  his  devoted  wife  had  both  joined 
us.  My  brother  had  had  an  attack  of  influenza  and  his 
health  was  not  very  good,  so  they  had  come  to  Europe 
to  consult  a  distinguished  specialist,  Professor  Erb,  at 


HAPPY  DAYS  ON  THE  BOSPHORUS        155 

Heidelberg.  After  completing  the  cure  my  brother  came 
to  Constantinople  for  rest  and  quiet  with  us.  The  climate 
on  the  Bosphorus  is  ideal,  never  very  hot  because  of  the 
constant  cool  breezes  from  the  Black  Sea.  During  that 
summer  there  were  only  three  days  when  the  thermometer 
rose  to  ninety. 

Everything  seemed  to  prosper  with  me.  I  had  brought 
several  important  issues  to  a  successful  termination; 
our  whole  immediate  family  was  together,  for  Mildred  had 
come  to  spend  her  vacation  with  us;  and  I  had  the  pleas 
ure  of  a  visit  from  my  dear  brother  and  his  wife.  I  recall 
no  period  of  my  life  that  was  such  a  happy  one. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  I  telegraphed  to  Washing 
ton  for  leave  to  return  home.  I  had  adjusted  all  the  mat 
ters  at  issue  between  the  two  Governments  except  the 
indemnity,  so  that  I  felt  justified  in  leaving  my  post.  I 
knew  that  I  could  rely  on  Lloyd  C.  Griscom,  the  secre 
tary  who  would  be  in  charge,  for  a  tactful  and  efficient 
handling  of  the  affairs  of  the  legation.  The  indemnity 
required  only  steady  pressure  and  patience.  As  I  have 
already  stated  I  timed  my  return  so  as  to  make  it  effec 
tive  in  adding  a  little  more  pressure. 

When  I  was  about  to  depart,  the  Sultan  sent  to  my 
residence  a  pair  of  beautiful  vases,  each  several  feet  high, 
and  artistically  ornamented.  They  were  manufactured 
at  the  royal  pottery  which  the  Sultan  had  had  established 
on  the  Palace  grounds,  and  the  workmanship  was  French. 
As  the  question  of  cost  did  not  enter  into  the  manufac 
ture,  some  wonderful  productions  were  turned  out  at  this 
pottery,  and  the  vases  sent  to  me  were  exceptionally  fine 
specimens.  I  was  very  much  embarrassed,  yet  I  did  not 
want  to  give  offense  by  refusing  them.  I  sent  Mr.  Gar- 
giulo,  our  veteran  dragoman,  to  explain  to  the  Sultan's 


156       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

secretary  how  much  I  appreciated  this  attention,  but 
as  I  was  not  permitted  to  accept  the  vases  for  myself  I 
would  accept  them  for  our  National  Museum  at  Wash 
ington.  That  pleased  the  Sultan,  and  the  vases  now  have 
a  place  in  our  museum  at  the  national  capital. 

As  there  was  no  need  for  hurrying  home,  we  made  a 
few  stops  on  the  way,  first  at  Vienna.  The  papers  an 
nounced  our  arrival  at  the  Austrian  capital,  and  I  received 
a  note  from  Dr.  Theodor  Herzl  asking  for  an  appoint 
ment.  I  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  meet  him,  for  1 
had  read  much  about  him.  I  found  him  a  man  of  attrac 
tive  appearance:  a  little  above  medium  height,  coal-black 
beard  and  hair,  very  dark,  expressive,  bright  eyes.  He 
was  about  forty  years  old,  seemed  full  of  energy,  beam 
ing  with  idealism,  but  a  man  of  the  world.  He  did  not  at 
all  impress  one  as  a  religious  fanatic. 

He  said  the  idea  of  Zionism,  or,  rather,  the  colonization 
of  oppressed  Jews,  had  been  developing  in  his  mind  for 
ten  or  twelve  years.  I  told  him  I  was  not  a  Zionist, 
though  I  did  not  want  him  to  understand  that  I  was  in 
any  way  opposed  to  the  movement,  or  disposed  carelessly 
to  ignore  the  solemn  aspirations  which  the  deeply  reli 
gious  members  of  my  race  had  prayerfully  nurtured  in 
sorrow  and  suffering  through  the  ages.  In  answer  to  his 
question  whether  the  Sultan  had  ever  spoken  with  me 
about  the  subject,  I  told  him  he  had  not,  as  he  probably 
understood  it  was  not  an  American  question  and  did  not 
in  any  way  come  under  my  jurisdiction.  But  I  told 
Hertzl  of  my  negotiations  regarding  the  immigration  of 
the  Jews  to  Palestine  during  my  first  mission  to  Turkey, 
when  I  visited  Jerusalem. 

We  spoke  of  the  condition  brought  about  through  the 
agitation  of  Zionism,  the  immigration  of  hundreds  of  Jews 


DR.  THEODOR  HERTZL  157 

without  means  into  Palestine,  where  there  was  as  yet  no 
industry  to  enable  them  to  make  a  livelihood.  He  said  he 
appreciated  that  and  was  doing  everything  in  his  power 
to  prevent  such  immigration  until  a  permit  for  a  "char 
tered  company"  with  sufficient  capital  had  been  obtained 
from  the  Sultan,  and  that  he  was  in  correspondence  with 
an  official  of  the  Porte  for  the  securing  of  such  a  permit. 
I  suggested  that  it  might  be  best  for  him  to  go  to  Constan 
tinople  and  personally  take  up  such  negotiations;  that  I 
had  been  shown  a  letter  from  him  to  Artin  Effendi,  the 
under-Secretary  of  State,  and  this  man  was  one  of  the 
biggest  rogues  in  the  empire,  an  Armenian  kept  nominally 
in  office  by  the  Sultan  to  mislead  and  hold  in  check  his 
oppressed  co-religionists.  Dr.  Herzl  thought  he  might 
take  my  advice. 

He  informed  me  that  some  months  before,  he  had  taken 
the  matter  up  with  the  German  Emperor  and  was  led  to 
believe  that  the  Emperor  was  not  in  any  way  opposed  to 
Zionism,  nor  to  the  returning  of  the  Jews  to  Palestine, 
but  Dr.  Herzl  feared  the  opposition  of  the  Catholics.  He 
gathered  also,  from  what  he  had  heard,  that  Russia  did 
not  oppose  the  plan. 

I  mentioned  Mesopotamia  to  him  as  a  better  place  for 
the  colonization  of  the  Jews  than  Palestine;  it  was  the 
original  home  of  Abraham  and  his  progenitors,  was 
sparsely  settled,  and  if  the  ancient  canals  were  reopened 
that  country  could  support  several  million  people.  He 
said  he  was  somewhat  familiar  with  this  idea,  as  well  as 
with  Professor  Haupt's  pamphlet,  and  a  scheme  for  the 
colonization  of  Cyprus,  and  that  it  was  perhaps  well  to 
have  more  than  one  plan;  if  one  did  not  serve  as  an  outlet 
for  emigration  another  might. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  Herzl  was  one  of  those  men  who, 
having  capacity  and  idealism,  attach  themselves  to  a 


158       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

cause  that  appeals  to  their  intellect  or  their  sympathies, 
and  grow  in  spirit  and  effectiveness  through  the  intensity 
of  their  devotion.  Such  men  often  develop  extraordinary 
qualities  of  true  greatness  under  conditions  that  impose 
weighty  responsibilities,  to  an  extent  which  they  them 
selves  did  not  realize. 

We  next  went  to  Rome.  All  my  life  I  had  looked  for 
ward  to  visiting  "Imperial  Rome"  on  her  seven  hills,  the 
old  Rome  that  inspired  some  of  the  leading  chapters  of 
the  world's  history.  And  my  imagination  was  fired  the 
more  because  in  my  mind's  eye  I  carried  for  comparison  a 
picture  of  Athens,  city  of  Pallas  Athene,  once  proud  intel 
lectual  mistress  of  the  world;  Jerusalem,  from  whence 
emanated  the  spiritual  endowment  of  civilization;  and 
the  new  Rome  to  which  Constantine  brought  the  scepter 
of  the  world. 

While  in  Rome  we  were  entertained  by  our  ambassa 
dor  and  Mrs.  Draper.  They  were  occupying  Palazzo 
Piombino,  one  of  the  most  magnificent  of  the  newer 
palaces,  where  they  entertained  in  a  manner  befitting 
their  station.  We  met  there  several  of  my  former  col 
leagues  at  Constantinople  who  were  now  representing 
their  governments  in  Rome.  Moses  Ezekiel,  our  dis 
tinguished  American  sculptor,  was  also  in  Rome  at  this 
time,  and  with  him  and  Mr.  Bonney,  in  charge  of  the  ex 
cavations  of  the  Forum  then -in  process,  we  went  through 
the  recently  excavated  chambers  of  the  vestal  virgins. 

Before  leaving  the  city  we  were  received  by  the  beauti 
ful  and  charming  Queen  Margherita.  She  was  a  remark 
ably  well-informed  woman,  even  about  events  in  our 
country.  She  spoke  about  the  American  press,  and  said 
one  of  our  papers  had  a  correspondent  in  Rome  who  was 
an  ardent  supporter  of  papal  rule  and  could  see  no  virtue 


A  VISIT  TO  ROME  159 

in  the  Italian  Government.  She  referred  to  the  invention 
of  the  flying  machine  by  Professor  Langley,  of  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution,  which,  if  it  proved  a  success,  would 
ultimately  change  the  life  of  all  peoples,  which  she  hoped 
would  bring  the  nations  nearer  to  one  another  and  into 
closer  spiritual  contact. 

We  visited  Pompeii,  and  then  went  to  Naples,  where 
we  boarded  a  steamer  for  New  York,  arriving  home  on 
February  8,  1900. 

Immediately  I  went  to  Washington  for  a  conference 
with  Secretary  Hay  and  to  give  him  the  details  of  the 
various  negotiations.  He  was  especially  interested  in  the 
communication  of  the  Sultan  to  the  Sulu  Mohammedans, 
for  the  friendly  relations  that  this  established  between 
the  Sulus  and  our  Government  had  already  prevented  the 
shedding  of  blood. 

I  told  Secretary  Hay  that  I  desired  to  resign.  The 
matters  for  which  I  had  been  sent  to  Turkey  were  ad 
justed,  the  payment  of  the  indemnity  being  only  a  ques 
tion  of  time  and  patience;  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  im 
portant,  so  far  as  concerned  my  personal  affairs,  that 
I  be  relieved  from  further  duty  abroad,  especially  as  I 
could  not  in  Turkey  properly  give  to  my  children  the 
education  I  felt  they  should  have.  The  secretary  thought 
my  request  reasonable  and  just,  but  he  thought  the 
President  would  regret  it  and  would  have  difficulty  in 
replacing  me. 

I  took  the  subject  up  with  the  President  next  day.  He 
said  he  realized  I  had  made  sacrifices  enough  and  was 
entitled  to  have  my  wishes  respected;  he  did  not,  however, 
wish  me  to  send  in  my  resignation  just  yet,  but  to  con 
tinue,  for  a  time  at  least,  to  direct  matters  in  Turkey  in 
consultation  with  Secretary  Hay.  He  expressed  great 


160       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

satisfaction  with  the  result  of  my  mission  and  said  if  he 
had  n't  sent  me,  some  hostile  demonstration  in  Turkish 
waters  would  have  been  inevitable,  with  possib'e  serious 
complications  as  a  result;  but  that  the  clamoring  for  a 
warship  to  Turkey  subsided  with  my  going  over  because 
of  the  general  belief  that  I  would  succeed  in  handling 
matters.  "No  one  else  could  have  done  so  well;  you  have 
done  better  than  I  thought  it  possible  for  any  one  to  do," 
he  graciously  added. 

He  indicated  that  there  might  develop  some  important 
post  in  the  United  States  which  he  should  like  to  feel  free 
to  ask  me  to  accept  should  the  occasion  arise,  but  he 
made  no  further  explanation.  I  later  learned  from  St. 
Clair  McKelway  to  what  this  had  reference.  McKelway 
was  on  intimate  terms  with  the  President  and  at  the 
same  time  was  a  close  friend  of  mine.  The  President 
mentioned  to  him  that  he  feared  Secretary  Hay,  whose 
health  was  failing,  might  have  to  relinquish  his  post,  in 
which  event  McKinley  had  in  mind  to  offer  it  to  me. 

Within  a  week  after  my  return  I  received  a  letter  from 
Charles  C.  Harrison,  provost  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
syVania,  informing  me  that  the  trustees  had  unanimously 
voted  to  confer  upon  me  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws,  and  he  would  be  glad  if  it  were  convenient  for  me 
to  receive  the  degree  at  a  convocation  of  unusual  im 
portance  on  Washington's  Birthday.  This  ceremony  took 
place  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  Philadelphia,  and  similar 
degrees  were  conferred  also  upon  Justice  Harlan,  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court;  Professor  Ames,  of  the 
Harvard  Law  School;  Minister  Wu,  of  China;  President 
Diaz,  of  Mexico;  and  two  delegates  from  the  Universities 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 

From  time  to  time  during  the  next  few  months  I  went 
to  Washington  both  to  direct  Turkish  matters  through 


I  END  MY  MISSION  161 

the  State  Department  and  to  confer  with  the  President  on 
matters  in  general.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  in  August, 
he  mentioned  his  forthcoming  letter  of  acceptance  of  re- 
nomination  and  spoke  about  the  efforts  of  the  Democrats 
to  fasten  the  charge  of  imperialism  on  the  administration, 
but  said  he  would  make  it  plain  that  we  proposed  to  give 
as  much  freedom  of  government  and  independence  to  the 
Philippines  as  they  showed  themselves  able  to  receive. 
I  read  to  him  from  a  memorandum  I  had  drawn  up  re 
garding  our  purpose  to  withdraw  our  troops  as  fast  and  in 
proportion  as  the  conditions  of  peace  in  the  islands  per 
mitted.  He  said  I  had  expressed  his  ideas  exactly,  and  as 
I  was  about  to  replace  the  memorandum  in  my  pocket  he 
said  he  wished  I  would  let  him  have  it,  which  of  course  I 
did. 

He  asked  what  I  thought  of  conditions  in  China,  and  I 
told  him  I  was  convinced  our  true  course  was  to  oppose 
the  partition  of  that  country  and  to  stand  firm  for  the 
open-door  policy;  that  if  Germany,  or  any  other  Power, 
endeavored  to  bring  about  a  division,  we  could  doubtless 
prevent  it  by  insisting  upon  the  open  door,  especially  as 
the  nations  could  not  agree  among  themselves. 

Early  in  December  I  received  a  letter  from  Secretary 
Hay,  asking  whether  I  still  preferred  to  be  relieved  or 
whether  for  any  reason  I  would  consent  to  continue  as  min 
ister  to  Turkey.  I  definitely  answered  in  the  negative  and 
my  second  mission  terminated  with  the  following  letter: 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE 
WASHINGTON,  December  18,  1900 
OSCAR  S.  STRAUS,  ESQUIRE 
42  Warren  Street 

New  York  City 
MY  DEAR  MR.  STRAUS: 

I  have  laid  before  the  President  your  letter  of  the  12th  in 
stant,  in  which  you  express  your  preference  not  to  return  to 


162       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Constantinople,  and  offer  your  resignation  of  the  mission  you 
have  honorably  and  faithfully  filled  for  the  past  few  years. 

Deferring  to  your  wish,  the  President  has  accepted  your 
resignation.  In  charging  me  to  inform  you  of  this  acceptance, 
the  President  desires  me  to  make  known  in  fitting  words  his 
high  appreciation  of  the  valuable  services  you  have  rendered  to 
your  country,  and  his  sense  of  the  ability  and  intelligence  you 
have  brought  to  bear  in  the  performance  of  a  task  of  more  than 
usual  delicacy  and  difficulty.  Called,  as  you  were,  a  second 
time  to  the  Ottoman  mission  and  confronted  by  the  problems 
and  entanglements  that  seem  to  especially  environ  that  post, 
you  have  shown  rare  aptness  in  dealing  with  its  perplexities  and 
have  notably  strengthened  the  hands  of  the  government  in 
leading  the  long  pending  questions  toward  a  settlement.  While 
deeply  regretting  your  retirement  and  while  averse  to  losing 
your  helpful  counsels,  the  President  has  felt  that  he  could  not 
rightfully  impose  fresh  personal  sacrifices  upon  you  by  disre 
garding  your  wish.  You  take  with  you  into  honored  private  life 
the  esteem  of  those  who  have  known  and  understood  your  con 
scientious  worth  in  the  paths  of  official  duty. 

I  share  the  President's  regrets  and  equally  share  his  apprecia 
tion  of  the  good  services  you  have  rendered.   My  sincere  re 
gards  and  personal  friendship  are  with  you  always. 
Very  cordially  yours 

JOHN  HAY 


CHAPTER  VII 
THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

Roosevelt  appoints  me  member  of  the  Hague  Tribunal  —  Trouble  with  Phil 
ippine  Mohammedans  averted  —  Humanitarian  diplomacy  under  Roosevelt; 
Hay's  Roumanian  note;  Roosevelt's  Russian  cable  —  The  Alaska  boundary  — 
Panama  and  the  "covenant  running  with  the  land"  —  White  House  luncheons; 
Carnegie  suggests  to  Roosevelt  a  legacy  for  my  grandchildren  —  Roosevelt  and 
organized  labor  —  Roosevelt's  definition  of  Americanism  —  Overnight  at  the 
White  House;  conference  regarding  the  President's  Message  —  Roosevelt  and 
the  Portsmouth  peace  negotiations;  Count  Witte  invites  a  committee  to  dis 
cuss  the  Russian  Jewish  question;  Roosevelt  writes  to  Witte  —  Roosevelt's 
prophetic  characterization  of  Germany  —  Some  essential  qualities  of  Roosevelt. 

I  BEGAN  the  year  1901  as  a  private  citizen  once  more.  I 
devoted  much  of  my  time,  however,  to  public  activities, 
giving  close  attention  particularly  to  the  international 
questions  that  arose. 

The  doctrine  of  citizenship  and  the  rights  of  natural 
ized  American  citizens  in  foreign  countries  had  for  many 
years  formed  the  major  subject  in  our  foreign  relations, 
and  it  had  been  one  for  constant  controversy  between  OUT 
own  and  foreign  countries,  especially  Germany,  Austria, 
and  Turkey.  In  the  spring  I  read  a  paper  at  a  meeting  of 
the  American  Social  Science  Association,  of  which  I  was 
the  president,  entitled  "The  United  States  Doctrine  of 
Citizenship  and  Expatriation."  Later  in  the  year  I  re 
ceived,  in  consequence,  a  letter  from  Senator  S.  M.  Cul- 
lom  of  Illinois,  chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations,  asking  me  to  prepare  material  for 
amendments  to  legislation  on  this  subject,  whicn  I  did. 

When  Theodore  Roosevelt  became  President  of  the 
United  States  through  the  lamentable  death  of  William 
McKinley,  one  of  my  earliest  relations  with  him  was  my 
being  appointed  by  him  as  a  member  of  the  Permanent 


164       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Court  of  Arbitration  at  The  Hague.  Whether  or  not  he 
acted  herein  in  conformity  with  McKinley's  intention,  I 
cannot  say.  When  McKinley  was  selecting  the  original 
members,  he  conferred  with  me  and  indicated  that  if 
agreeable  to  me,  he  would  be  pleased  to  appoint  me  as 
a  member.  Shortly  afterward  when  the  appointments 
were  announced,  my  name  was  not  among  them.  It  was 
some  time  before  I  saw  him  again,  and  while  I  should 
never  have  mentioned  it,  he  did.  He  said  he  was  very 
sorry  that  through  the  pressure  of  duties  he  had  quite  for 
gotten  his  intention  to  name  me  when  the  time  came  to 
announce  the  appointments.  I  told  him  I  thought  per 
haps  I  had  been  mistaken  in  understanding  that  he  had 
offered  me  one  of  the  appointments.  He  said  I  had  not 
misunderstood,  but  that  he  would  make  amends  should  a 
vacancy  occur  while  he  was  still  President;  he  had  wanted 
me  as  a  member  of  the  Court,  not  alone  in  recognition  of 
the  great  services  I  had  rendered,  but  because  he  re 
garded  me  exceptionally  qualified.  He  added  that  when 
he  became  ex-President  he  would  like  to  be  a  member  of 
that  Court  himself;  it  appealed  to  him  more  than  any 
other  office  he  could  think  of. 

The  vacancy  in  the  membership  of  the  Court  occurred 
sooner  than  any  one  anticipated,  by  the  death,  in  March, 
1901,  of  ex-President  Harrison;  but  by  the  decree  of  the 
gods  McKinley  himself  was  no  longer  with  us  when  the 
time  came  to  fill  President  Harrison's  place.  In  fact  I 
think  the  day  we  talked  about  the  Court  marked  my  last 
conference  with  him.  He  was  always  simple  in  manner 
and  of  charming  personality.  Together  we  enjoyed  a 
good  smoke  that  afternoon;  he  was  fond  of  smoking  and 
knew  I  enjoyed  a  good  cigar,  and  he  was  wont  to  have  me 
take  one  of  his  brand.  I  begged  him  not  to  concern  him 
self  further  with  the  omission  of  my  appointment  at  The 


THE  HAGUE  TRIBUNAL  165 

Hague,  that   I  was  satisfied   to  know  he  thought  me 
worthy  of  the  selection. 

It  is  poss'ble  that  Roosevelt  knew  the  circumstance  and 
McKinley's  intention,  for  he  was  Vice-President  at  the 
time  it  happened.  At  any  rate,  when  the  successor  to 
President  Harrison  was  chosen,  I  received  the  following 
appointment,  somewhat  different  in  form  from  most 
documents  of  the  kind: 

WHITE  HOUSE 

WASHINGTON,  January  8,  1902 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

Article  XX  of  the  Convention  for  the  Pacific  Settlement  of 
International  Disputes,  signed  July  29,  1899,  by  the  Plenipo 
tentiaries  to  the  Hague  Peace  Conference,  provides  for  the 
organization  of  a  permanent  Court  of  Arbitration,  and  Article 
XXIII  of  the  same  Convention  provides  for  the  selection  by 
each  of  the  signatory  Powers  of  four  persons  at  the  most,  as 
members  of  the  Court,  who  are  to  be  appointed  for  a  term  of 
six  years. 

It  will  give  me  pleasure  to  designate  you  as  one  of  the  four 
United  States  members  if  you  will  advise  me  that  such  action 
is  agreeable  to  you. 

Very  Truly  Yours, 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 
HONORABLE  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 
New  York,  N.Y. 

Since  then  I  have  been  reappointed  three  times:  in 
1908,  again  by  Roosevelt,  in  1912  and  1920,  by  Wilson. 

In  April,  1902,  there  appeared  in  the  press  a  dispatch 
to  the  effect  that  an  expedition  of  twelve  hundred  men 
was  to  be  sent  to  the  southern  Philippines  to  punish  the 
Mohammedans  there  for  killing  one  of  our  soldiers  and 
wounding  several  others.  I  immediately  wrote  the 
President  that  I  believed  such  a  step  would  be  unwise 
and  would  probably  bring  on  a  general  uprising  in  that 


166       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

province.  I  called  his  attention  to  the  negotiation  I  had 
had  with  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  regarding  these  people, 
and  suggested  that  instead  of  the  expedition  a  commis 
sion  be  sent  to  treat  with  them.  The  President  asked  me 
to  come  to  Washington  to  confer  with  him  in  the  matter, 
and  after  the  Cabinet  meeting  I  met  him  in  his  study. 
There  were  present  also  Mr.  Taft,  who  had  been  ap 
pointed  governor  of  the  Philippines,  Adjutant-General 
Corbin,  and  Mr.  Sanger,  acting  Secretary  of  War.  I 
presented  my  arguments  more  fully.  The  President  had 
already  telegraphed  General  Chaffee  regarding  the  send 
ing  of  a  diplomatic  mission,  in  accordance  with  my  letter. 
The  result  of  our  conference  was  that  General  Corbin 
was  directed  to  advise  General  Chaffee  to  use  the  office 
of  the  friendly  datos  to  obtain  the  desired  redress."  It 
developed  later  that  the  soldier  killed  was  laying  a 
telegraph  line,  which  procedure,  not  being  understood  by 
the  Moros,  was  regarded  by  them  as  a  device  for  their 
destruction.  The  slayers  were  surrendered  and  punished 
and  the  incident  was  satisfactorily  adjusted. 

At  about  this  time  disturbances  in  Roumania  were 
being  reflected  in  our  country.  Eleven  years  before,  a 
committee  of  prominent  Jews  had  brought  before  Presi 
dent  Harrison  the  pitiable  condition  of  the  large  number 
of  Jews  arriving  in  New  York  from  Russia,  and  it  was 
now  necessary  to  take  similar  steps  with  regard  to  the 
Jews  from  Roumania. 

In  Chapter  IV  I  mentioned  that  Roumania  disre 
garded  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  and  placed 
restrictions  upon  her  Jewish  subjects.  Into  that  treaty, 
by  which  Roumania  was  made  an  independent  king 
dom  following  the  Russo-Turkish  War,  Article  XLFV 
was  inserted  specially  for  the  protection  of  the  Jews,  of 


THE  ROUMANIAN  EXODUS  167 

whom  there  were  about  four  hundred  thousand  in  the 
new  state.  It  provided  that  difference  of  religion  should 
not  be  ground  for  exclusion  in  the  participation  of  civil, 
political,  or  economic  rights.  In  spite  of  this,  however, 
the  Jews  in  Roumania  were  being  oppressed  and  dis 
criminated  against  on  the  specious  claim  that  they  were 
foreigners,  though  they  and  their  ancestors  had  been 
living  in  the  land  for  generations.  They  were  compelled 
to  serve  in  the  army,  but  not  permitted  to  become  officers; 
they  were  made  subject  to  exceptional  taxes;  they  were 
excluded  from  the  professions  and  from  owning  and 
cultivating  land.  In  every  direction  they  were  being 
throttled,  and  new  laws  were  being  promulgated  to  shut 
off  every  avenue  of  self-support. 

The  result  was  what  had  doubtless  been  the  intention 
in  putting  into  force  these  drastic  measures :  the  Jews  who 
could  emigrated,  and  they  left  Roumania  en  masse.  The 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  gaining  admission  into  the 
countries  of  Western  Europe  were  so  great  that  few  of 
them  could  settle  there.  The  leading  Jewish  organiza 
tions  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  namely,  the  Jewish 
Colonization  Association  in  London  and  the  Alliance 
Israelite  Universelle  in  Paris,  laid  the  matter  before  their 
respective  governments,  but,  on  account  of  the  disturbed 
conditions  in  the  Balkans  and  the  cross-currents  of  Euror 
pean  politics,  no  pressure  could  be  exerted  through  these 
governments. 

The  main  stream  of  the  Roumanian  exodus  was  thus 
directed  to  America,  and  they  arrived  here  in  increasing 
numbers.  The  leading  Jewish  agencies  of  the  country, 
particularly  the  B'nai  B'rith  Order  under  the  presidency 
of  Leo  N.  Levi,  used  their  best  efforts  to  distribute  the 
immigrants  over  the  country  and  to  places  where  they 
were  most  likely  to  find  employment.  Later  our  very 


168       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

able  commissioner  of  immigration  at  Ellis  Island,  Robert 
Watchorn,  went  over  to  Roumania  for  the  special  pur 
pose  of  studying  the  situation  and  made  a  graphic  re 
port  of  what  he  learned.  But  to  alleviate  the  situation 
action  of  a  more  official  character  was  needed. 

Jacob  H.  Schiff  and  I  prepared  a  careful  brief  on  con 
ditions  and  presented  it  to  President  Roosevelt.  The 
President  said  he  was  willing  to  take  the  matter  in  hand 
provided  something  could  be  done  by  our  Government. 
Congressman  Lucius  N.  Littauer  also  extended  helpful 
cooperation.  He  had  recently  returned  from  Roumania 
and  had  first-hand  knowledge  of  the  question,  which  he 
took  up  in  conferences  with  the  President  and  with 
Secretary  Hay. 

Finally,  in  September,  1902,  the  President  directed 
Secretary  Hay  to  prepare  his  now  famous  Roumanian 
Note  to  the  Powers  signatory  to  the  Treaty  of  Berlin. 
The  note  was  sent  to  our  diplomatic  representatives  in 
those  countries  with  instructions  to  present  it  to  the 
governments  to  which  they  were  accredited.  The  occa 
sion  for  sending  it  was  found  in  connection  with  negotia 
tions  initiated  by  Roumania  for  the  concluding  of  a 
naturalization  treaty  with  our  country.  The  note  gave 
the  reasons  why,  under  the  circumstances,  we  were  un 
willing  to  conclude  such  a  treaty.  After  referring  to  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin  and  the  obligations  assumed  by  Rou 
mania  under  it  regarding  the  treatment  of  subject  nation 
alities,  the  Secretary  said: 

The  United  States  offers  asylum  to  the  oppressed  of  all  lands. 
But  its  sympathy  with  them  in  no  wise  impairs  its  just  liberty 
and  right  to  weigh  the  acts  of  the  oppressor  in  the  light  of  their 
effects  upon  this  country,  and  to  judge  accordingly. 

Putting  together  the  facts,  now  painfully  brought  home  to 
this  Government,  during  the  past  few  years,  that  many  of  the 


HAY'S  ROUMANIAN  NOTE  169 

inhabitants  of  Roumania  are  being  forced  by  artificially  adverse 
discriminations  to  quit  their  native  country;  that  the  hospitable 
asylum  offered  by  this  country  is  almost  the  only  refuge  left  to 
them;  that  they  come  hither  unfitted  by  the  conditions  of  their 
exile  to  take  part  in  the  new  life  of  this  land  under  circumstances 
either  profitable  to  themselves  or  beneficial  to  the  community, 
and  that  they  are  objects  of  charity  from  the  outset  and  for  a 
long  time  —  the  right  of  remonstrance  against  the  acts  of  the 
Roumanian  Government  is  clearly  established  in  favor  of  this 
Government.  Whether  consciously  and  of  purpose  or  not, 
these  helpless  people,  burdened  and  spurned  by  their  native 
land,  are  forced  by  the  sovereign  power  of  Roumania  upon  the 
charity  of  the  United  States.  This  Government  can  not  be  a 
tacit  party  to  such  an  international  wrong.  It  is  constrained  to 
protest  against  the  treatment  to  which  the  Jews  of  Roumania 
are  subjected,  not  alone  because  it  has  unimpeachable  ground 
to  remonstrate  against  the  resultant  injury  to  itself,  but  in  the 
name  of  humanity.  The  United  States  may  not  authoritatively 
appeal  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Berlin,  to  which  it 
was  not  and  can  not  become  a  signatory,  but  it  does  earnestly 
appeal  to  the  principles  consigned  therein,  because  they  are  the 
principles  of  international  law  and  eternal  justice,  advocating 
the  broad  toleration  which  that  solemn  compact  enjoins  and 
standing  ready  to  lend  its  moral  support  to  the  fulfillment 
thereof  by  its  cosignatories,  for  the  act  of  Roumania  itself  has 
effectively  joined  the  United  States  to  them  as  an  interested 
party  in  this  regard. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  by-products  of  the  Congress 
of  Berlin  was  to  bring  into  closer  relations  the  autocratic 
with  the  liberal  governments  of  Europe  and  cause  the 
former  to  become  more  amenable  to  the  enlightened  con 
science  of  the  world.  Hay's  dispatch,  while  not  pleasing  to 
the  Government  of  Roumania,  yet,  because  of  the  world 
wide  publicity  it  received,  had  a  measure  of  influence 
in  modifying  Roumania's  indefensible  proscriptions. 

Another  need  for  humanitarian  diplomacy  arose  the 
following  year.  The  attitude  and  proscriptions  of  the 


170       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Roumanian  authorities  had  doubtless  encouraged  anti- 
Semitic  activity  in  Russia,  and  the  latter  Government, 
no  longer  contenting  itself  with  the  application  of  re 
strictions  in  the  book  of  laws  which  compelled  Jews  to 
live  in  the  Pale  settlements,  officially  encouraged  mobs 
to  massacre  and  loot,  culminating  on  April  19-20,  1903, 
with  the  outbreak  in  Kishineny  where  forty-seven  Jews 
were  killed,  ninety-two  severely  wounded,  and  some  five 
hundred  more  slightly  injured.  In  addition  great  mate 
rial  losses  were  inflicted:  seven  hundred  houses  were 
destroyed,  six  hundred  stores  pillaged,  and  thousands  of 
families  utterly  ruined. 

When  these  facts  became  known,  they  called  forth  an 
expression  of  indignation  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
In  New  York  a  mass  meeting  was  called  at  Carnegie  Hall 
by  hundreds  of  the  foremost  New  York  Christians,  in 
protest  against  the  outrages  upon  the  Jews  in  Russia 
and  particularly  against  the  Kishineff  affair.  The  meet 
ing  was  presided  over  by  Paul  D.  Cravath,  eminent 
lawyer,  and  the  speakers  were  ex-President  Cleveland, 
Mayor  Seth  Low,  Jacob  G.  Schurman,  president  of 
Cornell,  and  Edward  M.  Shepard,  well  known  for  his 
unselfish  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  public.  I  have  in 
my  possession  the  manuscript  of  Cleveland's  address  on 
this  occasion,  which  concludes: 

In  the  meantime,  let  the  people  of  the  United  States,  gath 
ered  together  in  such  assemblages  as  this  in  every  part  of  the 
land,  fearlessly  speak  to  the  civilized  world  —  protesting  against 
every  pretence  of  civilization  that  permits  mediaeval  persecu 
tion,  against  every  bigoted  creed  that  forbids  religious  tolera 
tion  and  freedom  of  conscience,  against  all  false  enlightenment 
that  excuses  hatred  and  cruelty  towards  any  race  of  men,  and 
against  all  spurious  forms  of  government  protection,  that 
withhold  from  any  human  being  the  right  to  live  in  safety,  and 
toil  in  peace. 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  KISHINEFF         171 

I  will  also  quote  part  of  the  resolutions  adopted  that 
evening: 

Resolved,  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  should  exer 
cise  such  influence  with  the  Government  of  Russia  as  the  an 
cient  and  unbroken  friendship  between  the  two  nations  may 
justify  to  stay  the  spirit  of  persecution,  to  redress  the  injuries 
inflicted  upon  the  Jews  of  Kishineff,  and  to  prevent  the  re 
currence  of  outbreaks  such  as  have  amazed  the  civilized  world. 

A  few  weeks  later  a  committee  from  the  B'nai  B'rith 
Order,  consisting  of  Simon  Wolf,  Adolf  Moses,  Julius 
Bien,  Jacob  Furth,  Solomon  Sulzberger,  and  Joseph  D. 
Coons,  and  headed  by  their  president,  Leo  N.  Levi,  called 
upon  Secretary  Hay  and  presented  to  him  a  statement 
regarding  the  massacres  in  Russia  together  with  a  pro 
posed  petition  which  they  wished  forwarded  to  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  Czar.  The  Secretary  expressed  great 
sympathy  and  the  desire  to  do  what  might  be  possible  in 
the  matter.  His  reply  to  the  committee,  taken  down  in 
shorthand  at  the  time,  was  published  in  full  in  the  press, 
and  from  it  I  quote  the  concluding  sentence: 

All  we  know  of  the  state  of  things  in  Russia  tends  to  justify 
the  hope  that  even  out  of  the  present  terrible  situation  some 
good  results  may  come;  that  He  who  watches  over  Israel  does 
not  slumber,  and  that  the  wrath  of  man  now,  as  so  often  in  the 
past,  shall  be  made  to  praise  Him. 

The  Secretary  then  accompanied  the  committee  to  the 
White  House,  where  they  met  the  President  and  pre 
sented  to  him  an  outline  of  the  oppression  of  their  co 
religionists  in  Russia. 

Early  in  July  I  received  a  telegram  from  the  President's 
secretary  to  the  effect  that  the  President  would  like  to 
have  me  lunch  with  him  the  day  following  at  Oyster  Bay, 
and  that  Simon  Wolf  of  Washington,  and  Leo  N.  Levi 
also  had  been  invited.  When  I  arrived  at  Sagamore  Hill 


172       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

there  were  present  besides  those  named  Dr.  Albert  Sha\v 
of  the  "Review  of  Reviews,"  and  an  English  friend  oi 
his,  Mr.  Morris  Sheldon  Amos. 

We  discussed  the  Russian  situation  throughout  lunch. 
The  President  suggested  that  a  note  be  sent  by  the  Secre 
tary  of  State  to  John  W.  Riddle,  our  charge  at  St.  Peters 
burg,  and  that  this  note  should  embody  the  entire  peti 
tion  which  Mr.  Levi  and  his  committee  had  drafted.  Dr. 
Shaw  observed  that  the  embodying  of  the  petition  to  the 
Czar  and  giving  publicity  to  the  note  would  have  all  the 
effects  of  a  presentation  even  if  the  Czar  should  refuse  to 
receive  it,  which  was  exactly  what  the  President  had  in 
mind. 

After  luncheon  we  adjourned  to  the  study,  and  Roose 
velt  said:  "Now  let's  finish  this  thing  up."  Hay  had  been 
to  see  him  the  day  before  and  had  left  a  memorandum. 
Roosevelt  at  once  drafted  the  note  with  his  own  pen, 
using  part  of  Hay's  memorandum.  The  note  was  to 
be  sent  as  an  open  cable.  It  read  as  follows: 

RIDDLE 

St.  Petersburg 

You  are  instructed  to  ask  an  audience  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Aff airs  and  to  make  to  him  the  following  communication : 

Excellency:  The  Secretary  of  State  instructs  me  to  inform  you 
that  the  President  has  received  from  a  large  number  of  promi 
nent  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  all  religious  affiliations, 
and  occupying  the  highest  positions  in  both  public  and  private 
life,  a  respectful  petition  addressed  to  his  Majesty  the  Emperor 
relating  to  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  and  running  as 
follows : 

[Here  is  set  out  the  petition.] 

I  am  instructed  to  ask  whether  the  petition  will  be  received 
by  your  Excellency  to  be  submitted  to  the  gracious  considera 
tion  of  his  Majesty.  In  that  case  the  petition  will  be  at  once 
forwarded  to  St.  Petersburg. 


ROOSEVELT'S  RUSSIAN  CABLE          173 

Roosevelt  wanted  the  cable  to  be  sent  at  once  and  was 
in  a  hurry  to  get  it  to  Washington.  One  of  his  reasons  was 
that  the  late  Russian  ambassador,  Cassini,  had  been  dis 
missed  and  was  on  his  way  back  to  Russia,  and  he  wanted 
the  note  to  reach  the  Russian  Government  before  Cassini 
arrived  in  St.  Petersburg.  Mr.  Wolf,  who  lived  in  Wash 
ington,  was  to  take  the  drafted  cable  to  Secretary  Hay; 
but  as  he  could  not  return  that  night  the  President  asked 
whether  I  could  take  it  so  that  it  might  be  dispatched 
next  morning.  By  ten  o'clock  the  following  morning  I 
placed  the  draft  in  the  Secretary's  hands  and  it  was  im 
mediately  put  on  the  wire. 

In  planning  the  cable  as  he  did,  the  President  was 
right  in  his  anticipation.  Duly  the  American  charge  at 
St.  Petersburg  informed  the  State  Department  that  the 
Russian  Government,  through  its  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  had  declined  to  receive  or  consider  the  petition. 
Nevertheless,  its  purpose  was  accomplished.  Official 
Russia  was  made  to  realize  the  aroused  indignation  and 
the  public  protests  of  the  civilized  world.  This  in  turn  had 
a  decided  influence  in  checking,  for  the  time  being  at 
least,  similar  outbreaks  threatened  throughout  the  em 
pire,  besides  bringing  to  trial  and  punishment  some  of 
the  leaders  of  the  massacres. 

That  afternoon  at  Sagamore  Hill,  after  the  Russian 
matter  had  been  disposed  of,  the  President  was  talking  to 
Dr.  Shaw  and  me  about  the  Alaskan  boundary  question. 
He  pulled  out  a  map  showing  the  disputed  boundary,  and 
explained  that  three  commissioners  from  the  United  States 
and  three  from  Great  Britain  and  Canada  would  take 
up  the  dispute  for  investigation.  He  argued  that  they 
were  not  arbiters  and  he  refused  to  sign  an  arbitral  agree 
ment;  if  they  did  not  agree,  he  would  take  the  matter  into 


174       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

his  own  hands;  that  the  whole  trouble  arose  from  the  fact 
that  the  Canadians  had  shoved  down  the  boundary  line 
after  the  discovery  of  gold.  "Suppose  a  man  pitches  a 
tent  on  my  grounds  and  claims  them,  and  I  want  him  to 
get  off;  and  he  says  he  won't  get  off,  but  will  arbitrate 
the  matter!"  Roosevelt  exclaimed.  Then,  turning  to  me, 
he  added:  "Straus,  you  are  a  member  of  the  Hague  Tri 
bunal;  don't  you  think  I'm  right?" 

I  calmly  replied  that  as  a  member  of  the  Hague  Tri 
bunal  I  should  first  have  to  hear  what  the  other  side  had 
to  say  and  therefore  must  reserve  my  judgment.  And  we 
all  had  a  good  laugh. 

During  the  Venezuela  controversy  in  1902,  Venezuela 
on  the  one  side  and  Great  Britain  and  Germany  on  the 
other,  Roosevelt  was  very  much  incensed  that  Germany, 
with  the  feeble  backing  of  England,  should  undertake  a 
blockade  against  Venezuela  to  make  the  latter  carry  out 
certain  agreements,  and  he  promptly  took  steps  to  pre 
vent  it.  Thereupon  there  was  a  disposition  on  the  part  of 
Germany  to  ask  Roosevelt  to  arbitrate.  Secretary  Hay, 
it  seems,  favored  such  a  course,  but  I  strongly  advised 
against  it. 

At  a  luncheon  to  which  I  was  invited  by  the  President 
early  in  November,  1903,  the  conditions  in  Panama  came 
up  as  the  principal  topic  of  conversation.  There  were 
present  on  this  occasion,  besides  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt, 
Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  former  Secretary  of  the  Interior; 
John  Clark  Davis,  of  the  "Philadelphia  Ledger";  H.  H. 
Kohlsaat,  of  Chicago;  Lawrence  F.  Abbott,  of  "The  Out 
look";  and  the  President's  brother-in-law,  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Cowles,  of  the  Navy.  News  had  been  re 
ceived  that  Panama  had  separated  from  Colombia  and 
we  were  about  to  recognize  Panama.  In  his  informal  way, 


RECOGNITION  OF  PANAMA  175 

as  was  his  custom  at  luncheons,  the  President  began  to 
discuss  the  situation,  referring  to  the  fact  that  our  treaty 
of  1846  wais  with  New  Granada,  which  afterwards  became 
the  United  States  of  Colombia  and  then  the  Republic  of 
Colombia,  and  that  in  that  treaty  we  had  guaranteed  to 
protect  the  transit  route.  One  of  the  questions  raised  was 
whether  the  treaty  still  held  us  to  that  obligation,  not 
withstanding  these  several  changes  of  sovereignty. 

The  President  was  directing  his  remarks  toward  me, 
which  was  his  way  of  signifying  the  particular  person 
from  whom  he  wanted  to  draw  comment.  I  answered 
that  it  seemed  to  me,  as  I  recollected  the  terms  of  the 
treaty,  which  I  had  recently  read,  that  the  change  of 
sovereignty  did  not  affect  either  our  obligations  or  our 
rights;  that  I  regarded  them  in  the  nature  of  a  "cove 
nant  running  with  the  land." 

"That's  fine!  Just  the  idea!"  Roosevelt  replied,  and 
as  soon  as  luncheon  was  over,  he  requested  me  to  ex 
press  that  idea  to  Hay.  He  scratched  a  few  lines  on  a 
correspondence  card  asking  Secretary  Hay  to  go  over 
with  me  the  suggestion  I  had  made  and  to  work  into 
the  treaty  the  "covenant  running  with  the  land" 
idea. 

That  evening  I  called  on  the  Secretary.  He  seized  the 
idea  at  once  and  said  he  would  make  use  of  it  in  a  state 
ment  he  was  just  preparing  for  the  press  detailing  the 
whole  situation.  The  following  day  there  was  reported 
in  the  papers  of  the  country  the  fact  that  the  President, 
following  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet,  had  decided  to  rec 
ognize  the  de  facto  government  of  Panama;  and  then  the 
detailed  statement  by  Secretary  Hay  regarding  the  terms 
of  the  treaty,  the  history  of  the  negotiations,  and  the  sub 
sequent  development,  covered  several  newspaper  col 
umns.  It  contained  this  paragraph: 


176       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

It  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  this  treaty  is  not  dependent 
for  its  efficacy  on  the  personnel  of  the  signers  or  the  name  of 
the  territory  it  affects.  It  is  a  covenant,  as  lawyers  say,  that 
runs  with  the  land.  The  name  of  New  Granada  has  passed 
away;  its  territory  has  been  divided.  But  as  long  as  the  isthmus 
endures,  the  great  geographical  fact  keeps  alive  the  solemn 
compact  which  binds  the  holders  of  the  territory  to  grant  us 
freedom  of  transit,  and  binds  us  in  return  to  safeguard  for  the 
isthmus  and  the  world  the  exercise  of  that  inestimable  privilege. 

A  few  days  thereafter  I  received  a  short  note  from  the 
President  reading:  "Your  'covenant  running  with  the 
land*  idea  worked  admirably.  I  congratulate  you  on  it." 
And  from  my  friend  John  Bassett  Moore  I  received  an 
amusing  letter: 

So  you  had  a  finger  in  the  pie!  I  find  a  good  deal  of  amuse 
ment  in  reflecting  on  the  end  reached  from  the  premise  of  my 
memorandum;  and  almost  as  much  on  the  conclusion  reached 
from  your  suggestion.  Perhaps,  however,  it  is  only  a  question 
of  words  —  that  is  to  say,  it  is,  indifferently,  a  question  of  the 
"covenant  running  with  the  land"  or  a  question  of  the  "cove 
nant  running  (away I)  with  the  land"!! 

Those  luncheons  at  the  White  House  were  always 
pleasant  and  interesting  occasions.  One  met  there  all 
kinds  of  people,  of  every  station  in  life,  but  always  people 
who  stood  for  something  and  who  interested  the  President. 
At  the  table  Roosevelt  would  speak  without  apparent 
reserve  and  free  from  all  official  restraint,  and  I  doubt 
whether  these  confidences  were  ever  abused.  By  this 
means,  too,  he  received  the  frank,  unreserved  statements 
and  criticisms  of  his  guests. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  range  of  personalities  one 
would  meet  at  the  Roosevelt  luncheons,  I  remember  one 
day  when  Seth  Bullock,  a  former  sheriff  of  the  Black 
Hills  district  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Roosevelt  during 


WHITE  HOUSE  LUNCHEONS  177 

his  cowboy  days,  sat  next  to  Seth  Low  at  the  table.  And 
in  his  "Autobiography"  Roosevelt  himself  says: 

No  guests  were  ever  more  welcome  at  the  White  House  than 
these  old  friends  of  the  cattle  ranches  and  the  cow  camps  — 
the  men  with  whom  I  had  ridden  the  long  circle  and  eaten  at 
the  tail-board  of  a  chuck-wagon  —  whenever  they  turned  up  at 
Washington  during  my  Presidency.  I  remember  one  of  them 
who  appeared  at  Washington  one  day  just  before  lunch,  a  huge, 
powerful  man  who,  when  I  knew  him,  had  been  distinctly  a 
fighting  character.  It  happened  that  on  that  day  another  old 
friend,  the  British  Ambassador,  Mr.  Bryce,  was  among  those 
coming  to  lunch.  Just  before  we  went  in  I  turned  to  my 
cow-puncher  friend  and  said  to  him  with  great  solemnity, 
"Remember,  Jim,  that  if  you  shot  at  the  feet  of  the  British 
Ambassador  to  make  him  dance,  it  would  be  likely  to  cause 
international  complications";  to  which  Jim  responded,  with 
unaffected  horror,  "Why,  Colonel,  I  shouldn't  think  of  it, 
I  should  n't  think  of  it!" 

Mrs.  Roosevelt  is  a  most  charming  and  cultured 
woman,  typically  the  wife  and  mother.  Literary  and  in 
tellectual  matters  appeal  to  her,  though  her  dominant 
note  is  the  domestic  one.  I  am  sure  she  would  have  been 
just  as  happy  as  the  mistress  of  a  private  household  as 
the  leading  lady  of  the  land  in  the  White  House,  despite 
her  great  tact,  sweetness,  and  simple  dignity  in  filling 
the  latter  position. 

The  President  was  an  omnivorous  reader.  He  could 
read  faster  and  remember  better  than  any  one  I  have 
ever  known.  On  one  occasion  he  recommended  to  me 
Ferrero's  "Greatness  and  Decline  of  Rome,"  which  he 
had  just  finished  in  the  original  Italian,  and  which  had 
been  brought  out  in  English  by  the  Putnam  house.  Sub 
sequently,  too,  I  met  this  author  at  the  White  House, 
where  he  and  his  wife  were  the  guests  of  the  President 
for  several  days. 


178       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

In  January,  1904,  a  large  conference  was  held  in  Wash 
ington  of  representatives  of  the  various  peace  societies 
and  other  persons  prominently  interested  in  the  calling 
of  an  international  peace  congress.  George  F.  Seward, 
of  New  York,  was  chairman,  and  others  connected  with 
it  were  the  Reverend  Edward  Everett  Hale  and  Robert 
Treat  Paine,  of  Boston;  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  of 
Virginia,  Andrew  Carnegie,  and  myself.  Resolutions 
were  adopted  recommending  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty 
with  Great  Britain  whereby  all  differences  between  us 
which  might  fail  of  adjustment  through  diplomatic 
channels  were  to  be  submitted  for  arbitration  to  the 
Permanent  Court  at  The  Hague.  It  was  further  recom 
mended  that  we  enter  into  like  treaties  with  other  powers 
as  soon  as  practicable.  We  called  on  the  President  and 
the  resolutions  were  presented  by  Mr.  Tucker;  Mr.  Car 
negie  and  I  each  made  a  few  remarks,  which  the  President 
in  turn  answered  with  a  brief  address.  When  he  had 
finished  and  we  were  all  standing  around  him,  Mr.  Carne 
gie  said  to  him,  "I  have  just  been  congratulating  Mr. 
Straus  on  the  compliments  you  paid  him,  and  suggested 
that  he  get  a  copy  of  that  portion  of  your  remarks  to 
preserve  for  his  children  and  grandchildren."  Roosevelt 
immediately  turned  to  Mr.  Loeb,  his  secretary,  and  in 
structed  him  to  send  to  me  that  portion  of  his  remarks, 
adding:  "And  I  meant  every  word  I  said."  I  trust  I  may 
be  pardoned  for  the  egotism  which  prompts  me  to  in 
corporate  it  in  these  memoirs: 

I  have  had  from  Mr.  Straus  aid  that  I  can  not  over-estimate, 
for  which  I  can  not  too  much  express  my  gratitude,  in  so  much 
of  the  diplomatic  work  that  has  arisen  in  this  administration  — 
aid  by  suggestion,  aid  by  actual  work  in  helping  me  to  carry 
out  the  suggestions;  and  Mr.  Straus  was  one  of  the  two  or  three 
men  who  first  set  my  mind,  after  I  came  in  as  President,  in  the 


WHITE  HOUSE  LUNCHEONS  179 

direction  of  doing  everything  that  could  be  done  for  the  Hague 
Tribunal,  as  that  seemed  to  be  the  best  way  to  turn  for  arbi 
tration. 

At  another  pleasant  luncheon  there  was  present  Alice, 
now  the  wife  of  Congressman  Longworth,  of  Ohio,  Roose 
velt's  daughter  by  his  first  wife.  In  the  course  of  our 
discussion  about  the  reciprocity  treaty  with  Cuba  and 
the  making  of  more  favorable  tariff  arrangements,  I  said : 
"We  went  to  war  with  Spain  for  the  liberation  of  Cuba, 
and  now  if  we  treat  her  step-motherly  and  starve  her  to 
death,  what  would  the  world  say?"  There  was  hearty 
laughter  all  round  the  table,  and  Miss  Alice  turned  to  me 
and  said,  in  her  naive  way  and  with  a  mischievous  sparkle 
in  her  eyes:  "Do  I  look  starved?"  The  President  had 
fairly  exploded  with  laughter,  and  when  I  remarked  that 
I  had  "put  my  foot  into  it,"  he  added,  amid  another  out 
burst,  "Yes,  both  of  them!" 

The  President  did  not  smoke,  but  always  served  cigars 
and  cigarettes  to  his  guests.  When  I  did  not  take  one, 
he  said,  "Straus,  you  smoke." 

"Yes,"  I  answered,  "but  I  certainly  want  to  pay  as 
much  respect  to  you  as  I  always  did  to  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey.  He  did  not  drink,  and  I  never  took  any  when  it 
was  served." 

"You  go  right  ahead  and  smoke.  If  Root  were  here  he 
would  smoke  and  always  does,"  replied  Roosevelt. 

After  lunch  that  day,  when  the  other  guests  had  gone,  he 
and  I  went  into  an  adjoining  room  and  had  a  general  dis 
cussion  —  labor  matters,  the  National  Civic  Federation, 
the  Republican  Party,  etc.,  etc.  He  said  he  had  received 
a  number  of  requests  to  put  into  the  Republican  platform 
a  plank  protesting  against  the  discrimination  made  by 
Russia  against  Americans  of  the  Jewish  faith.  "You 
know,"  he  said,  "I  am  prepared  to  do  anything  that  I 


180       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

can  for  all  of  our  citizens  regardless  of  race  or  creed,  but 
unless  we  mean  to  do  something  further  than  simply  pro 
test  it  would  look  like  an  effort  to  catch  votes,  for  such 
statements  in  the  platform  could  not  be  regarded  for  any 
other  purpose."  He  added  he  had  in  mind  a  different  and 
more  effective  way  of  handling  the  subject  when  the  time 
came.  He  said  he  remembered  that  I  had  never  asked 
him  to  take  action  in  this  or  any  other  question  that  was 
not  justified  on  broad  American  principles,  but  that  if 
anything  arose  which  specially  reflected  upon  the  Jews 
he  looked  to  me  to  bring  it  to  his  attention,  and  I  was  to 
regard  that  just  as  much  my  duty  as  the  protection  of 
American  Christian  interests  in  Turkey. 

We  spoke  about  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  and  I  told 
him  that  some  one  had  said  that  the  Japs  were  yellow- 
skinned,  but  the  Russians  were  yellow  all  the  way  through. 
This  called  forth  a  hearty  laugh.  Humor  of  any  kind, 
provided  it  was  clean,  he  always  appreciated,  and  his  own 
sense  of  it  continually  served,  as  it  did  for  Lincoln,  to 
lighten  the  seriousness  of  his  duties. 

Like  Lincoln,  too,  Roosevelt  combined  with  that  bal 
ancing  sense  of  humor  an  innate  and  always  active  sense 
of  justice.  Time  and  again  in  my  relationship  with  him 
I  have  observed  and  admired  it.  I  recall  in  this  regard  the 
case  of  an  employee  named  Miller  in  the  Government 
Printing  Office,  who  was  discharged  because  he  did  not 
belong  to  the  union,  and  Roosevelt  reinstated  him.  Mr. 
Gompers  and  several  members  of  the  Executive  Com 
mittee  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  thereupon 
called  upon  the  President  to  protest  against  this  rein 
statement.  They  said  his  discharge  was  based  on  two 
points:  that  he  was  a  non-union  man,  and  also  that  he 
was  an  incapable  worker.  Roosevelt's  answer  was:  "The 


ROOSEVELT  AND  LABOR  181 

question  of  his  personal  fitness  is  one  to  be  settled  in  the 
routine  of  administrative  detail,  and  cannot  be  allowed  to 
conflict  with  or  to  complicate  the  larger  question  of  gov 
ernmental  discrimination  for  or  against  him  or  any  other 
man  because  he  is  or  is  not  a  member  of  a  union.  This  is 
the  only  question  now  before  me  for  decision;  and  as  to 
this  my  decision  is  final." 

As  I  was  in  constant  touch  with  the  President  by  cor 
respondence  and  conferences,  I  wrote  him  telling  of  my 
gratification  to  find  in  his  decision  anent  the  Miller  case 
such  consonance  in  principle  with  his  position  regarding 
the  anthracite  coal  strike,  to  which  I  received  the  fol 
lowing  reply  that  brings  out  the  point  I  have  just  made 
about  his  sense  of  justice: 

WHITE  HOUSE,  WASHINGTON 

October  1,  1903 
MY  DEAR  MR.  STRAUS: 

I  thank  you  heartily  for  your  letter.  When  you  can  get  on 
here  I  should  like  to  tell  you  for  your  own  information  some 
of  my  experiences  in  connection  with  this  Miller  case.  I  feel 
exactly  as  you  do  —  that  my  action  was  a  complement  to  my 
action,  for  instance,  in  the  anthracite  coal  strike,  and  that  I 
could  no  more  hesitate  in  the  teetli  of  opposition  from  the 
labor  unions  in  one  case,  than  I  could  when  the  opposition  came 
from  the  big  monied  men  in  the  other  case. 
Sincerely  yours 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

Perhaps  no  President  has  had  a  policy,  with  regard  to 
labor,  so  wise  and  far-seeing  as  that  of  Roosevelt.  In 
variably  he  sought  the  counsel  of  labor  leaders  in  matters 
affecting  their  interests,  and  always  they  were  made  to 
feel  that  redress  for  their  just  grievances,  and  their  rights 
generally,  were  as  much  a  concern  of  his  and  of  his  admin 
istration  as  any  rights  of  the  rich.  In  this  connection  I  re 
call  a  remark  of  P.  H.  Morrissey,  then  head  of  the  railroad 


182       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

train-men.  We  were  seated  in  the  Red  Room  of  the  White 
House  for  conference  after  dinner.  There  were  present 
some  thirty  or  more  men  prominently  identified  with 
labor,  whom  the  President  had  invited  to  discuss  labor 
legislation.  Morrissey  recalled  one  time  several  years 
before  when  he  sat  in  front  of  the  great  fireplace  in  the 
Red  Room  waiting  for  the  President;  and  he  said  he 
could  not  help  reflecting  what  a  long  way  it  was  from  the 
cab  of  the  locomotive  engine  to  this  stately  room  in  the 
official  residence  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  an 
honor  and  a  privilege  that  Roosevelt  was  the  first  Presi 
dent  to  give  to  men  of  labor. 

On  the  same  evening  I  saw  in  clear  relief  Roosevelt's 
wonderful  tact,  judgment,  and  understanding  of  men  as 
I  had  never  seen  it  displayed  before.  One  or  two  of  the 
labor  leaders  showed  some  bitterness  in  their  criticism  of 
certain  legislation.  Roosevelt  showed  frank  approval  of 
just  complaints  and  allayed  irritation  in  a  most  tactful 
way  where  the  demand  was  unjust  or  unreasonable. 

In  the  election  of  1904  I  took  an  active  part  and  kept  in 
close  touch  with  Roosevelt.  An  unusual  amount  of  bit 
terness  characterized  this  campaign,  though  it  was  fore 
seen  that  Roosevelt  would  win  by  a  large  majority.  In 
this  connection  I  received  a  characteristic  letter  from  him, 
dated  at  the  White  House  October  15th: 

I  notice  that  various  Democratic  papers,  including  the  Eve 
ning  Post,  have  endeavored  to  show  that  I  have  appealed  to  the 
Jew  vote,  the  Catholic  vote,  etc.  Now  the  fact  is  that  I  have 
not  appealed  to  any  man  as  Jew,  as  Protestant,  or  as  Catholic, 
but  that  I  have  as  strongly  as  in  me  lies  endeavored  to  make  it 
evident  that  each  is  to  have  a  square  deal,  no  more  and  no  less, 
without  regard  to  his  creed.  I  hope  that  this  country  will  con 
tinue  in  substantially  its  present  form  of  government  for  many 
centuries.  If  this  is  so  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  during 


DEFINITION  OF  AMERICANISM         183 

that  time  there  will  be  Presidents  of  Jewish  faith,  Presidents  of 
Catholic  faith.  Now,  my  aim  as  President  is  to  behave  toward 
the  Jew  and  the  Catholic  just  as  I  should  wish  a  Jewish  or 
Catholic  President  to  behave  towards  Protestants  —  in  other 
words,  to  behave  as  a  good  American  should  behave  toward  all 
his  fellow  Americans,  without  regard  to  the  several  creeds  they 
profess  or  the  several  lands  from  which  their  ancestors  have 
sprung.  Moreover,  I  am  pleased  at  what  Lebowich  says  at  my 
not  having  a  spirit  of  condescension  or  patronizing.  I  have 
enough  of  the  old  Adam  in  me  to  object  almost  as  strongly  to 
being  patronized  as  to  being  wronged;  and  I  do  not  intend  know 
ingly  to  behave  toward  others  in  a  manner  which  I  should  re 
sent  if  it  were  adopted  toward  me. 

These  sentences  bring  to  mind  another  and  public 
statement  of  Roosevelt's  in  which  he  characterized 
Americanism;  the  occasion  was  an  address  at  the  un 
veiling  of  the  Sheridan  equestrian  statue  in  Washington: 

We  should  keep  steadily  before  our  minds  the  fact  that 
Americanism  is  a  question  of  principle,  of  purpose,  of  idealism, 
of  character;  that  it  is  not  a  matter  of  birthplace,  or  creed,  or 
line  of  descent. 

Here  in  this  country  the  representatives  of  many  old-world 
races  are  being  fused  together  into  a  new  type,  a  type  the  main 
features  of  which  are  already  determined,  and  were  determined 
at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War;  for  the  crucible  in  which 
all  the  new  types  are  melted  into  one  was  shaped  from  1776  to 
1789,  and  our  nationality  was  definitely  fixed  in  all  its  essentials 
by  the  men  of  Washington's  day. 

Soon  after  the  election  he  invited  me  to  come  to  the 
White  House  for  dinner  one  evening  and  to  spend  the 
night;  there  were  a  number  of  things  he  wanted  to  talk 
over  with  me.  When  I  arrived  I  found  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott 
and  his  son  Ernest  had  been  similarly  invited,  and  there 
were  additional  guests  for  dinner:  Attorney-General 
Moody,  Senator  Knox,  Secretary  of  War  Taft,  and  James 


184       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

R.  Garfield,  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Corporations  in  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor. 

At  dinner  the  President  announced  that  we  had  come 
together  to  do  some  business,  and  he  produced  from  his 
pocket  a  slip  of  paper  on  which  were  noted  the  several 
subjects  he  wished  to  consider  with  us,  mainly  things  to 
be  incorporated  in  his  forthcoming  Message  to  Congress. 
First  there  was  the  negro  question.  The  South  had  vili 
fied  him  because  he  entertained  Booker  Washington  and 
appointed  Crum  Collector  of  the  Port  at  Charleston. 
When  Congress  assembled,  one  of  the  things  he  intended 
doing  was  to  send  in  again  the  name  of  Crum  for  con 
firmation.  "The  Southerners  either  do  not  or  do  not 
wish  to  understand  it,"  he  said;  adding  that  his  position 
plainly  was  that  he  would  do  everything  in  his  power  for 
the  white  man  South  without,  however,  doing  a  wrong  or 
an  injustice  to  the  colored  man.  He  was  sympathetic 
with  the  South,  for  he  was  half  Southerner  himself,  his 
mother  having  come  from  Roswell,  Georgia.  His  re 
marks  on  this  topic  were  directed  mainly  to  Dr.  Abbott. 

The  conversation  then  turned  to  the  recent  election 
and  became  very  general,  every  one  joining  and  relating 
instances  or  experiences  in  connection  with  it.  Mr.  Taft, 
who  had  waged  a  vigorous  campaign  for  the  Administra 
tion,  told  a  joke  on  himself:  he  had  received  a  letter  from 
Wayne  MacVeagh  saying  that  so  far  as  he  (MacVeagh) 
could  see,  Taft's  speeches  did  not  do  any  harm. 

When  the  talk  had  gone  along  these  general  lines  for 
a  while,  Roosevelt  interjected  with  "Now  we  must  get 
back  to  business,"  and  proceeded  to  discuss  the  diplo 
matic  service  in  relation  to  his  Message.  He  thought  civil 
service  too  strictly  applied  would  be  detrimental,  as  we 
had  a  great  deal  of  old  timber  there  that  should  be  gotten 
rid  of. 


A  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS  185 

Next  he  took  up  a  discussion  of  Panama.  Mr.  Taft 
with  several  others  was  to  leave  next  day  on  a  mission 
there  to  look  into  the  difficulties  between  the  native  army 
and  the  President  of  Panama,  and  some  one  humorously 
suggested  that  he  had  better  go  down  and  take  away  the 
weapons  from  the  army  and  let  them  muster  as  much  as 
they  wanted  to  without  weapons. 

After  dinner  we  adjourned  to  the  President's  study  on 
the  floor  above.  He  sat  down  at  his  desk  and  pulled  open 
a  drawer  as  he  said:  "I  want  to  read  to  you  incomplete 
drafts  of  portions  of  my  Message  which  I  should  like  to 
have  you  criticize,  as  on  some  of  the  subjects  I  have  not 
yet  fully  made  up  my  mind."  The  Message  was  in  separate 
parts,  each  dealing  with  an  important  subject.  He  took 
up  the  part  dealing  with  our  foreign  relations,  in  regard 
to  Russia  and  Roumania,  and  addressed  me,  saying  he 
would  like  me  to  pay  special  attention  to  that  as  he  had 
consulted  me  all  along  concerning  the  action  to  be  taken. 
He  said  our  Government  had  been  criticized  as  interfer 
ing  with  the  internal  affairs  of  other  nations,  and  the 
statement  had  been  repeatedly  made  that  we  should  not 
like  it  if  other  nations  took  us  to  task  for  our  negro  lynch- 
ings  in  the  South;  but  he  argued  that  the  lynchings  were 
comparatively  few,  and,  though  bad  enough,  were  nothing 
compared  to  the  wholesale  murder  in  cold  blood  under 
official  sanction  and  perhaps  instigation,  as  in  Kishineff. 
"My  answer  to  all  these  criticisms  is  this,"  he  said;  "only 
a  short  time  ago  I  received  a  remonstrance  or  petition 
from  a  society  in  Great  Britain  regarding  the  lynchings 
in  this  country.  I  did  not  reject  it;  on  the  contrary,  I 
answered  it  most  politely  and  expressed  my  great  regret 
for  these  unlawful,  unjustifiable  acts,  with  which  neither 
I  nor  the  Government  had  any  sympathy.  On  the  con 
trary  the  Government  does  everything  in  its  power  to 


186       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

prevent  these  outrages  and  unlawful  acts.  And  I  author 
ize  any  one  to  make  use  of  this  information  whenever  the 
occasion  presents  itself." 

To  the  labor  question  also  he  wanted  me  to  pay  special 
attention  because  of  my  experience  with  such  matters 
and  in  the  arbitration  of  labor  disputes.  He  began  with 
the  statement  that  he  was  in  favor  of  organized  capital 
and  organized  labor.  I  asked  him  whether  right  at  that 
point  I  might  make  a  suggestion,  which  was  that  he  begin 
with  the  general  subject  of  capital  and  labor,  because 
organized  labor  did  not  comprise  more  than  fifteen  per 
cent  of  the  wage-earners  of  the  country.  This  suggestion 
he  accepted. 

Roosevelt  then  expressed  himself  in  favor  of  the  eight- 
hour  law.  Messrs.  Moody,  Knox,  Taft,  and  myself  did 
not  agree  with  his  statement  in  the  form  he  had  it.  We 
explained  that  there  were  several  bills  before  Congress 
on  the  subject,  some  of  which  had  passed  the  lower  house, 
but  were  defeated  in  the  Senate;  that  it  was  all  right  for 
the  Government  in  its  own  yards  to  adopt  an  eight-hour 
day,  but  when  it  gave  out  contracts  to  other  shops,  while 
it  had  a  right  to  say  that  the  work  upon  that  contract 
should  be  done  by  eight-hour  days,  it  had  no  right  to  re 
quire  work  on  other  contracts  to  be  done  in  eight-hour 
days.  When  we  had  discussed  the  subject  quite  thor 
oughly,  it  was  agreed  to  omit  it  from  the  Message. 

Next  he  took  up  the  trust  question.  He  said  Mr.  Gar- 
field  had  several  suggestions  to  offer  for  making  the  in 
terstate  commerce  law  effective.  It  was  generally  agreed 
that  the  law  as  originally  passed  fully  provided  the  rem 
edy  that  was  intended,  but  it  had  been  emasculated  by 
the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Messrs.  Knox,  Taft, 
and  Moody  referred  to  several  of  these  decisions  and 
pointed  out  that  the  railroads,  under  subtermge  of 


A  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS  187 

switches  and  free  cars  —  cars  that  were  furnished  by  such 
shippers  as  the  beef  trust  —  got  completely  around  the 
law.  They  allowed  a  mileage  charge  for  the  supply  of 
these  cars  in  excess  of  what  should  be  allowed,  and  under 
such  cover  it  amounted  to  a  rebate  to  those  shippers  and 
was  a  complete  circumvention  of  the  law.  Garfield's  sug 
gestion  was  that  the  interstate  commerce  corporations  be 
compelled  to  obtain  a  license  or  charter  from  the  National 
Government  to  do  business.  We  thoroughly  discussed 
this,  but  it  was  disapproved  as  being  an  interference  with 
the  legal  rights  of  States,  and  that  therefore  no  such  law 
could  be  passed  by  Congress.  The  President  then  turned 
to  the  legal  members  of  our  group  and  said,  "Now  here 
is  a  great  wrong  and  you  lawyers  have  always  got  a  way 
of  preventing  us  from  reaching  a  remedy." 

Knox  created  a  laugh  by  replying,  "The  President 
wants  us  as  usual  to  jump  over  the  Supreme  Court." 

The  work  on  the  Message  done,  Roosevelt  said  it  was 
his  intention  to  go  South  and  make  a  few  speeches.  He 
would  begin  at  San  Antonio  and  would  visit  Tuskegee  and 
Sewanee  Colleges,  for  he  wanted  his  views  in  regard  to  the 
South  and  the  negro  question  fully  understood.  He  read 
us  a  draft  along  the  lines  of  thought  he  wanted  to  present, 
quoting  much  from  Lincoln,  which  seemed  highly  to  the 
point.  When  some  one  mentioned  the  curtailing  of  suf 
frage  so  as  to  have  it  based  upon  educational  qualifica 
tions  and  property  ownership,  the  President  said  it  would 
not  be  wise  to  agitate  that  subject,  and  that  herein  Booker 
Washington  agreed  with  him;  but,  he  added,  "There  is 
something  inherently  wrong  about  a  Southern  member 
representing  in  some  instances  only  a  quarter  of  the 
number  of  votes  that  an  Eastern  member  represents,  and 
having  an  equal  vote  with  him  in  Congress." 

It  was  half  after  midnight  when  our  little  company 


188       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

separated.  The  President  then  suggested  to  Dr.  Abbott 
and  me  that  we  meet  at  8.15  breakfast,  if  we  did  not 
object  to  having  this  meal  with  him  and  the  children. 
In  the  absence  of  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  who  had  gone  to  New 
York,  the  President  next  morning  took  the  head  of  the 
table,  and  with  the  coffee  urn  before  him  served  us  each 
with  our  coffee,  cream,  and  sugar.  There  were  Teddy, 
Ethel,  Kermit,  Archie,  and  Quentin,  the  governess,  the 
tutor,  besides  Dr.  Abbott,  his  son,  and  myself.  After  the 
meal  we  strolled  in  the  park  back  of  the  White  House  until 
9.30,  when  the  President  left  for  his  work-room  in  the 
new  office  building  west  of  the  White  House. 

I  did  not  see  Roosevelt  again  for  several  months.  One 
day  in  May  I  took  lunch  with  him  upon  his  return  from 
Chicago  where  he  had  had  a  conference  with  the  represen 
tatives  of  the  labor  unions  who  were  carrying  on  the  team 
ster's  strike  that  paralyzed  the  commerce  of  the  city. 
He  said  he  had  received  through  his  secretary  my  mem 
orandum  regarding  an  adjustment  of  the  trouble,  and 
that  it  was  of  great  assistance  to  him  in  discussing  the 
situation  and  coming  to  some  equitable  arrangement.  He 
was  preparing  a  Message  for  an  extra  session  of  Congress 
in  October,  and  said  he  would  send  me  parts  of  it,  espe 
cially  those  referring  to  immigration  and  the  Far  East,  for 
my  advice  and  suggestion. 

In  1905,  when  Roosevelt  was  busy  with  negotiations 
to  bring  peace  between  Russia  and  Japan,  I  received  a 
letter  from  him  stating  that  he  had  endeavored  to  get 
these  two  nations  to  go  to  The  Hague,  but  Russia  was 
most  reluctant  and  Japan  positively  refused;  nor  would 
they  go  to  either  Paris  or  Chefoo,  but  they  were  both 
willing  to  come  to  Washington.  In  his  own  "Autobiog- 


CONFERENCE  WITH  COUNT  WITTE     189 

raphy,"  which  I  never  tire  of  reading,  Roosevelt  gives 
an  interesting  sketch  of  his  mediation  between  these  two 
countries  which  finally  brought  about  the  conference  and 
treaty  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 

Count  Sergius  Witte,  head  of  the  Russian  mission  to 
Portsmouth,  was  desirous  of  meeting  some  of  the  repre 
sentative  Jews  of  our  country  with  a  view  to  seeking  what 
might  practicably  be  done  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  Jews  in  the  Russian  Empire.  While  it  was  said  that 
his  wife  was  a  Jewess,  his  interest  in  the  Jewish  question 
was  perhaps  primarily  to  improve  the  relations  between 
Russia  and  the  United  States.  The  Russian  massacres, 
with  the  resultant  enforced  emigration,  the  public  meet 
ings  of  protest  in  this  country  and  the  press  comments,  had 
seriously  prejudiced  public  opinion  here  against  Russia. 

The  Count  therefore  invited  a  committee  to  confer 
with  him  and  Baron  Rosen  at  Portsmouth.  There  were 
Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Isaac  N.  Seligman,  Adolph  Kraus, 
Adolf  Lewisohn,  and  myself.  The  Count  admitted  with 
much  frankness  the  condition  of  the  Jewish  population  of 
Russia,  and  that  it  was  an  injustice.  He  expressed  his 
purpose  to  exert  his  best  influence  to  remedy  the  just 
grievances  of  the  oppressed  Jews.  We  assured  him  that 
we  asked  for  no  special  privileges  for  our  co-religionists, 
but  the  same,  and  no  greater,  rights  for  them  than  were 
accorded  other  Russian  subjects;  that  the  granting  of 
such  rights  would  relieve  Russia  of  the  Jewish  ques 
tion  and  of  the  international  ill-will  to  which  this  question 
naturally  and  rightly  gave  rise.  Both  the  Count  and 
Baron  Rosen  agreed  with  us,  but  argued  that  it  was  not 
practicable  to  grant  such  complete  emancipation,  but  that 
it  should  come  about  gradually.  We  told  them,  of  course, 
that  with  that  premise  we  could  not  and  would  not  agree. 

The  Count  was  very  much  impressed  with  our  pres- 


190       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

entation  of  the  subject,  and  our  statements  were  cor 
roborated  by  his  own  observations  later  when  he  made  a 
visit  to  the  lower  East  Side  of  New  York  where  he  spoke 
with  a  number  of  the  Russian- Jewish  immigrants.  He 
said  that  upon  his  return  to  Russia  he  would  at  once  take 
up  the  problem  with  a  view  ultimately  to  secure  equal 
rights  for  the  Jewish  subjects,  that  he  realized  the  neces 
sity  for  this  not  only  from  a  humanitarian  standpoint, 
but  from  the  standpoint  of  Russia's  best  interests  and 
of  her  relations  with  the  leading  nations  of  the  world, 
particularly  with  the  United  States. 

Before  going  to  Portsmouth  on  Count  Witte's  invita 
tion,  I  conferred  with  Roosevelt.  He  wanted  me  in  an 
unofficial  capacity  to  observe  carefully  the  progress  of 
the  negotiations  and  keep  him  advised.  Just  at  that  time 
it  looked  as  if  the  conference  might  break  up,  and  before 
that  stage  was  actually  reached  he  wanted  to  be  notified, 
for  he  would  probably  have  a  communication  to  make 
to  the  commissioners.  On  arriving  at  Portsmouth  I  had 
a  confidential  talk  with  Fedor  Fedorovich  Martens,  the 
great  Russian  international  jurist,  who  was  one  of  my 
fellow  members  at  the  Hague  Tribunal,  and  with  whom 
I  had  been  in  personal  touch  on  several  previous  occa 
sions.  He  was  legal  adviser  to  the  Russian  delegation.  I 
apprised  him  of  what  I  knew  to  be  the  desire  of  the  Presi 
dent,  and  he  agreed  that  if  a  break  became  imminent,  a 
communication  such  as  the  President  would  send  would 
be  likely  to  have  the  right  influence,  and  he  would  see 
to  it  that,  should  the  necessity  arise  for  such  a  message, 
Roosevelt  should  be  promptly  informed.  I  advised  the 
President  of  my  understanding  with  Martens,  but  fortu 
nately  no  rupture  occurred  and  the  terms  of  peace  were 
agreed  upon. 

In  his  "Autobiography"  Roosevelt  says,  with  regard 


ROOSEVELT  WRITES  TO  WITTE         191 

to  these  Portsmouth  negotiations:  "I  had  certainly  tried 
my  best  to  be  the  friend  not  only  of  the  Japanese  people 
but  of  the  Russian  people,  and  I  believe  that  what  I  did 
was  for  the  best  interests  of  both  and  of  the  world  at 
large."  He  refers  with  characteristic  generosity  to  the 
help  given  him  at  St.  Petersburg  by  our  ambassador, 
George  von  Lengerke  Meyer,  who  "rendered  literally 
invaluable  aid  by  insisting  upon  himself  seeing  the  Czar 
at  critical  periods  of  the  transaction,  when  it  was  no 
longer  possible  for  me  to  act  successfully  through  the 
representatives  of  the  Czar,  who  were  often  at  cross- 
purposes  with  one  another." 

And  when  the  Portsmouth  Conference  was  over,  the 
President  further  took  a  deep  interest  in  bringing  about 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  Russia. 
When  Count  Witte  came  to  New  York,  Roosevelt  wrote 
him  the  following  letter,  of  which  he  sent  me  a  copy : 

OYSTER  BAY,  N.Y. 

September  10,  1905 
MY  DEAR  MR.  WITTE: 

...  In  furtherance  of  our  conversation  of  last  evening  I  beg 
you  to  consider  the  question  of  granting  passports  to  reputable 
American  citizens  of  Jewish  faith.  I  feel  that  if  this  could  be 
done  it  would  remove  the  last  cause  of  irritation  between  the 
two  nations  whose  historic  friendship  for  one  another  I  wish  to 
do  my  best  to  maintain.  You  could  always  refuse  to  give  a 
passport  to  any  American  citizen,  Jew  or  Gentile,  unless  you 
were  thoroughly  satisfied  that  no  detriment  would  come  to 
Russia  in  granting  it.  But  if  your  Government  could  only  see 
its  way  clear  to  allowing  reputable  American  citizens  of  Jewish 
faith,  as  to  whose  intentions  they  are  satisfied,  to  come  to 
Russia,  just  as  you  do  reputable  American  Christians,  I  feel 
it  would  be  from  every  standpoint  most  fortunate. 

Again  assuring  you  of  my  high  regard,  and  renewing  my  con 
gratulations  to  you  and  to  your  country  upon  the  peace  that  has 
been  obtained,  believe  me, 

Sincerely  yours 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 


192       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Early  in  1906,  when  the  Algeciras  Conference  regard 
ing  Morocco  was  in  session,  and  the  press  reported  that 
it  was  likely  to  break  up  without  an  agreement  on  ac 
count  of  Germany's  attitude,  Carl  Schurz,  knowing  of 
my  close  relationship  with  Roosevelt,  wrote  to  me  that 
the  President  could  probably  prevail  upon  the  Powers 
concerned  to  refer  the  question  to  the  Hague  Tribunal. 
This  letter  I  forwarded  to  Roosevelt;  but  although  he 
was  ever  ready  to  vitalize  the  machinery  of  the  Hague 
Tribunal,  advice  coming  from  Mr.  Schurz  at  this  time 
was  not  regarded  with  favor,  possibly  because  of  their 
previous  differences.  In  his  reply  to  me,  however,  the 
President  showed  what  a  clear  and  prophetic  insight  he 
had  into  Germany's  attitude  and  purposes: 

Modern  Germany  is  alert,  aggressive,  military  and  industrial. 
It  thinks  it  is  a  match  for  England  and  France  combined  in  war, 
and  would  probably  be  less  reluctant  to  fight  both  those  powers 
together  than  they  would  be  together  to  fight  it.  It  despises 
the  Hague  Conference  and  the  whole  Hague  idea.  It  respects 
the  United  States  only  in  so  far  as  it  believes  that  our  navy  is 
efficient  and  that  if  sufficiently  wronged  or  insulted  we  would 
fight.  Now  I  like  and  respect  Germany,  but  I  am  not  blind  to 
the  fact  that  Germany  does  not  reciprocate  the  feeling.  I  want 
us  to  do  everything  we  can  to  stay  on  good  terms  with  Ger 
many,  but  I  would  be  a  fool  if  I  were  blind  to  the  fact  that  Ger 
many  will  not  stay  in  with  us  if  we  betray  weakness.  As  for  this 
particular  case,  when  I  see  you  next  I  shall  tell  you  all  that  I 
have  done  and  you  will  see  that  I  have  been  using  my  very  best 
efforts  for  peace. 

In  all  my  relations  with  Roosevelt,  even  before  I  became 
a  member  of  his  Cabinet,  I  was  more  and  more  convinced 
that  no  consideration  of  political  self-interest  or  partisan 
advantage  ever  entered  his  mind  in  determining  his  at 
titude  or  action  in  upholding  the  right  or  dethroning  a 
wrong.  He  resented  nothing  more  than  when  some  poli- 


SOME  QUALITIES  OF  ROOSEVELT         193 

tician  or  inconsiderate  person  made  an  appeal  to  him  for 
action  on  the  plea  that  it  would  be  good  politics.  He  was 
visioned,  but  not  visionary;  and  withal  highly  practical, 
in  that  he  understood  the  workings  and  tendencies  of 
human  forces.  Just  as  he  would  read  a  book  by  absorb 
ing  a  page  at  a  glance,  so  he  would  instinctively  appraise 
his  fellow  men;  their  qualities  would  impress  him  just  as 
a  brilliant  paragraph  in  a  book  would  arrest  his  instant 
attention. 

Roosevelt  would  not  make  an  idle  gesture  or  even  im 
ply  a  threat  which  he  did  not  purpose  to  carry  into  action. 
He  was  more  abused  by  those  whom  he  designated  as 
"the  interests,"  and  better  understood  and  trusted  by  the 
masses,  than  any  President  in  our  history  with  the  ex 
ception  of  Lincoln.  So  it  is  always  with  real  leaders,  who 
seek  to  guide  rather  than  pander  to  public  opinion.  The 
latter  course  appeals  to  weak  though  well-intentioned 
public  men;  the  former  requires  not  only  clear  vision  but 
high  courage,  and  these  qualities  Roosevelt  possessed  to 
an  extraordinary  degree. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
INDUSTRIAL  DIPLOMACY 

Trade  unions  and  federated  unions  —  Formation  of  the  National  Civic  Federa 
tion  —  Notable  industrial  disputes  are  settled  —  Andrew  Carnegie  dines  with 
fighting  labor  leaders  —  Marcus  Hanna,  general  of  industry  —  My  chairman 
ship  of  the  Board  of  Railway  Labor  Arbitration  —  Oar  findings  and  recom 
mendations  —  My  chairmanship  of  the  New  York  Public  Service  Commission 
—  Military  necessities  impinge  upon  industrial  relations  —  The  President's  In 
dustrial  Conference  of  1919-20. 

WHEN  our  industries  were  small,  a  strong  human  tie 
bound  together  employer  and  worker.  Following  the 
expansion  which  began  after  the  Civil  War,  our  industries 
resolved  themselves  into  vast  organizations  and  corpora 
tions,  and  the  relations  between  employer  and  worker 
became  more  and  more  impersonal.  The  workers  first 
organized  into  trade  unions,  which  presently  expanded 
into  federated  unions  similar  to  those  which  a  generation 
before  had  begun  to  be  formed  in  Great  Britain. 

The  rapid  growth  of  our  industries  and  the  impersonal 
relations  between  employer  and  employed  made  it 
apparent  that  social  justice  required  that  reciprocal 
rights  be  recognized  in  order  to  bring  about  a  better 
understanding  of  a  relationship  which  had  already  become 
increasingly  strained  and  often  embittered,  resulting  in 
serious  strikes  and  lock-outs.  One  of  the  first  organiza 
tions  to  meet  this  need  was  formed  in  Chicago  in  1894, 
following  the  Pullman  strike.  It  was  called  the  Civic 
Federation  of  Chicago  and  was  under  the  leadership  of 
a  number  of  prominent  men  of  that  city,  directed  by 
Ralph  M.  Easley. 

Six  years  later  the  scope  of  this  organization  was  en 
larged,  and  in  the  name  of  the  National  Civic  Federation 
a  conference  was  called  in  Chicago,  in  December,  1900, 


NATIONAL  CIVIC  FEDERATION         195 

and  the  debate  centered  round  the  proposition  that  in 
American  industries  voluntary  conciliation  was  preferable 
to  compulsory  arbitration.  At  that  conference  a  com 
mittee  was  selected  whose  duty  it  was  to  collect  informa 
tion  at  home  and  abroad  regarding  measures  of  arbitra 
tion,  and  to  advise  with  employers  and  workmen  in  this 
country  whenever  and  wherever  possible. 

In  the  following  December,  1901,  the  National  Civic 
Federation  held  a  conference  in  New  York  in  the  rooms 
of  the  New  York  Board  of  Trade  and  Transportation. 
I  was  then  president  of  that  Board  and  was  asked  to 
preside  at  the  conference.  After  adjourning  the  sessions, 
we  organized  the  industrial  department  of  the  Federa 
tion,  with  a  committee  of  twelve  men  representing  the 
public,  twelve  men  representing  employers,  and  twelve 
men  representing  wage-earners.  These  three  groups 
were  headed,  respectively,  by  Grover  Cleveland,  Marcus 
A.  Hanna,  and  Samuel  Gompers.  All  of  their  colleagues 
were  men  of  national  distinction  and  were  recognized 
leaders  in  their  fields.  From  this  larger  committee  of 
thirty-six,  an  executive  committee  of  five  was  selected, 
whose  members  were  as  follows:  Marcus  A.  Hanna, 
chairman;  Samuel  Gompers,  first  vice-president;  I, 
second  vice-president;  Charles  A.  Moore,  treasurer;  and 
Ralph  M.  Easley,  secretary. 

The  scope  and  plan  of  the  industrial  department  was 
to  promote  industrial  peace  in  whatever  way  might  seem 
best.  We  planned  for  a  large  meeting  in  May,  when  two 
public  sessions  were  to  be  held,  one  at  Cooper  Union  and 
one  in  the  rooms  of  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Com 
merce.  We  issued  a  statement  of  our  plan  and  scope  and 
inaugurated  a  broad  educational  campaign. 

Meanwhile  our  department  proved  itself  most  practical. 
It  actively  helped  settle  several  disputes,  notably  the 


196       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Albany  street-car  strike,  the  disagreement  between  the 
National  Metal  Trades  Association  and  the  International 
Association  of  Machinists,  and  the  United  States  steel 
strike.  And  it  was  instrumental  in  averting  the  threat 
ened  anthracite  coal  strike. 

The  identical  ideal  that  I  held  up  in  my  opening  ad 
dress  at  the  meeting  in  January,  1901,  I  should  hold  up 
to-day:  namely,  that  industrial  peace,  to  be  permanent, 
cannot  rest  upon  force,  but  must  rest  upon  justice,  and 
in  essential  industries  especially,  upon  a  high  sense  of 
responsibility  to  the  public  by  both  employer  and  em 
ployed.  In  no  other  country  are  conditions,  by  nature 
and  by  principles  of  government,  better  adapted  to  the 
equitable  adjustment  of  the  reciprocal  rights,  duties, 
and  privileges  of  labor  and  capital  than  in  our  own, 
because  we  are  a  democratic  people  with  no  fixed  class 
distinctions  to  separate  us.  The  laborer  of  to-day  may 
be  the  capitalist  of  to-morrow,  and  vice  versa.  Capital 
and  labor  are  interdependent,  not  opponents;  and  it  is 
on  the  basis  of  that  dependency  that  adjustments  in  the 
relationship  between  them  must  be  made.  This  ideal  is, 
happily,  more  widely  recognized  to-day  than  it  was  when 
the  National  Civic  Federation  was  organized. 

I  gave  considerable  attention  to  the  work  of  the 
Federation  for  a  number  of  years.  As  the  offices  were  in 
New  York  and  the  president  and  first  vice-president 
were  both  resident  in  other  cities,  the  direction  of  the 
organization  between  conferences  largely  fell  upon  me  as 
second  vice-president,  with  the  important  assistance  of 
the  secretary,  Mr.  Easley. 

The  Federation  afforded  a  neutral  forum  where,  under 
the  chairmanship  of  one  of  its  officers,  the  disputants 
could  discuss  their  grievances  and  arrive  at  an  under 
standing.  Many  times  the  growing  bitterness  between 


CARNEGIE  AND  LABOR  LEADERS       197 

them  was  checked  and  a  strike  or  lock-out  averted.  The 
fact  was  often  borne  in  upon  me  how  many  of  these  in 
dustrial  disputes  grew  out  of  misunderstandings  which 
were  cleared  away  when  men  assembled  around  a  table 
and  frankly  discussed  their  differences. 

To  further  the  work  and  interests  of  the  Federation  I 
brought  together  in  social  relationship,  at  several  dinners 
at  my  home,  the  representatives  of  all  three  groups; 
namely,  the  public,  the  wage-earner,  and  the  employer. 
One  day  Andrew  Carnegie  expressed  the  desire  to  meet 
the  labor  leaders  who  had  instigated  the  strike  in  the 
Carnegie  works  which  resulted  in  the  Homestead  riots. 
Accordingly  I  arranged  a  dinner,  to  which  I  invited  a 
number  of  the  men  of  the  labor  wing  of  the  Federation, 
as  well  as  some  others  of  the  committee,  together  with 
Messrs.  Wighe  and  Schaeffer,  of  Pittsburgh,  officers  of 
the  Amalgamated  Union,  who  had  led  the  Homestead 
strike. 

Carnegie  knew  these  leaders  well,  and  they  knew  him. 
He  called  them  by  their  Christian  names  and  they  called 
him  "Andy."  They  said  that  night  that  they  and  their 
colleagues  in  the  union  had  always  believed  that  that 
strike  and  riot  would  never  have  taken  place  had  "Andy" 
been  present.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Carnegie's  relations 
with  his  men  had  always  been  very  friendly.  He  was 
unjustly  accused  of  the  responsibility  for  the  Homestead 
riots,  which  might  not  have  occurred  had  he,  instead  of 
Mr.  Frick,  been  in  charge  of  the  employers'  side.  Mr. 
Carnegie  at  the  time  was  in  Scotland. 

Only  a  short  while  before  this  Carnegie  dinner,  Marcus 
Hanna  had  died,  and  our  executive  committee  offered  to 
Mr.  Carnegie  the  presidency  of  the  Federation,  to  suc 
ceed  Mr.  Hanna.  Mr.  Carnegie  was  gratified  and  very 
much  touched,  especially  by  the  implied  confidence  on 


198       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  part  of  the  twelve  labor  men  of  the  Federation;  but 
on  account  of  his  advanced  years  he  felt  that  he  could 
not  give  the  position  the  attention  it  deserved.  He  was, 
however,  glad  to  become  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee,  and  as  such  revealed  himself  in  a  most  favor 
able  light.  Beneath  his  Scotch  nimbleness  of  mind  there 
was  a  broad,  tolerant,  and  lovable  heart.  He  met  the 
laboring  men,  not  as  their  superior,  but  as  one  having  a 
genuine  brotherly  interest  in  their  welfare.  It  became 
very  evident  to  us  all  why  he  was  so  highly  regarded  by 
his  workmen,  and  why  he  had  so  much  influence  with 
them:  they  trusted  to  his  fairness  and  had  a  real  affec 
tion  for  him  personally.  In  his  Autobiography  he  makes 
feeling  reference  to  his  connection  with  the  Federation. 

Marcus  Hanna,  who  was  known  to  the  country  chiefly 
through  his  political  activities,  was  looked  upon  as  the 
leader  of  a  group  of  rich  men  who  had  won  political  power 
by  commercializing  our  political  system;  and  was  re 
garded  by  many  as  an  evil  influence.  But  in  connection 
with  the  great  industrial  interests  that  he  had  built  up 
in  Ohio  and  elsewhere  —  coal  mines,  iron  works,  shipping, 
street  railways  —  little  was  known  of  him.  He  had  shown 
great  capacity  as  an  industrial  general  in  the  manage 
ment  of  his  men,  winning  their  good-will  by  fair  and 
equitable  treatment;  and  it  is  said  he  never  had  a  strike 
in  the  industries  he  administered.  He  was  highly  re 
garded  by  the  labor  leaders,  who  had  confidence  in  his 
fairness  to  the  wage-earners.  He  did  not  oppose,  as  did 
so  many  of  the  employers  of  his  time,  the  organization  of 
labor  unions.  On  the  contrary,  he  believed  that  such  or 
ganizations  were  necessary  adequately  to  protect  the 
rights  of  the  workers. 

As  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Civic 
Federation,  Hanna  displayed  this  better  side  of  his  char- 


A  GENERAL  OF  INDUSTRY  199 

acter  and  his  great  ability  as  an  organizer  and  a  leader. 
Here  he  was  not  the  cunning  politician,  but  the  genial 
head  of  an  industry  who  recognized  the  just  demands  of 
the  wage-earners  and  was  always  generous  with  them  in 
regard  to  compensation  and  labor  conditions. 

The  work  we  did  and  the  experiences  we  encountered 
as  officers  of  the  Federation,  each  group  coming  into 
close  contact  with  the  others  and  adjusting  with  them 
industrial  differences,  had  a  decided  educational  value 
for  us  all.  For  myself,  the  study  I  gave  during  these  years 
to  the  relations  between  capital  and  labor,  and  my  active 
part  in  the  conciliation  and  arbitration  of  labor  dis 
putes,  provided  me  with  an  intensely  practical  back 
ground  and  preparation  for  the  secretaryship  of  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  which  later  fell  to 
my  lot.  It  was  this  experience  and  my  personal  acquaint 
ance  with  the  representatives  of  capital  and  labor  all 
over  the  country  that  induced  me,  as  head  of  that  Depart 
ment,  to  organize  the  Council  of  Commerce  and  to  plan 
the  Council  of  Labor,  to  both  of  which  I  shall  refer  more 
specifically  later. 

The  Board  of  Railway  Labor  Arbitration  of  1912  was 
perhaps  the  most  important  labor  arbitration  body 
brought  into  existence  up  to  that  time.  Its  decisions 
affected  the  whole  Eastern  district:  that  is,  that  section 
of  our  country  lying  east  of  Chicago  and  East  St.  Louis, 
and  north  of  the  Ohio  River  to  Parkersburg,  West  Vir 
ginia,  and  of  the  Potomac  River  to  its  mouth.  Fifty-two 
railroad  lines  and  over  thirty-one  thousand  engineers 
were  involved.  The  latter  negotiated  through  the  Broth 
erhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers. 

The  representatives  of  the  Brotherhood  and  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Conference  Committee  of  Managers  of  the 
railroads  held  several  conferences  in  March,  1912,  at 


200       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

which  the  Brotherhood  made  certain  requests.  The  con 
ferences  ended  with  the  refusal  of  the  roads  to  grant  these 
requests  or  any  part  of  them,  whereupon  ninety-three 
per  cent  of  the  members  voted  for  a  strike.  Charles  P. 
Neill,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor,  and  Judge 
Martin  A.  Knapp,  of  the  United  States  Commerce 
Court,  tendered  their  friendly  offices  under  the  Erdman 
Act,  but  were  unable  to  mediate,  and  the  contending  par 
ties  would  not  agree  to  arbitrate  under  the  provisions 
of  the  Erdman  Act.  It  was  then  decided  to  submit  the 
dispute  to  a  board  of  arbitration  composed  of  seven  mem 
bers,  one  to  be  chosen  by  each  side,  and  those  two  to  agree 
on  the  other  five  within  fifteen  days  of  their  own  appoint 
ment. 

The  roads  chose  Daniel  Willard,  president  of  the  Balti 
more  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  the  Brotherhood  chose  P. 
H.  Morrissey,  former  grand  master  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Railroad  Trainmen.  At  the  end  of  fifteen  days,  these  two 
had  not  succeeded  in  agreeing  upon  the  other  five  mem 
bers  of  the  board,  though  they  had  agreed  upon  a  list 
from  which  the  five  might  be  chosen.  A  committee  con 
sisting  of  Mr.  Neill,  Judge  Knapp,  and  Chief  Justice 
White,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  then 
chose  five  names  from  that  list,  and  the  final  personnel  of 
the  board  was  as  follows:  Dr.  Charles  R.  Van  Hise,  of 
Madison,  Wisconsin;  Frederick  N.  Judson,  of  St.  Louis; 
Dr.  Albert  Shaw,  Otto  M.  Eidlitz,  and  myself,  of  New 
York,  in  addition  to  Mr.  Morrissey  and  Mr.  Willard. 

On  July  12th  the  board  met  and  organized,  electing  me 
as  chairman.  The  decisions  of  the  board  were  to  be  binding 
for  one  year  and  thereafter  could  be  terminated  by  either 
side  upon  a  thirty  days'  notice.  For  two  weeks  we  held 
hearings,  morning  and  afternoon,  at  the  Oriental  Hotel, 
Manhattan  Beach,  New  York.  When  the  hearings  were 


RAILWAY  LABOR  ARBITRATION         201 

over,  the  board  adjourned  until  early  September,  when 
the  work  of  making  the  awards  was  begun.  Because  of 
my  nomination  for  Governor  by  the  Progressive  Party 
at  the  time,  I  found  it  advisable  to  relinquish  the  chair 
manship  of  the  board  to  Dr.  Van  Hise,  although  I  con 
tinued  my  membership  and  active  interest  to  the  end. 

The  hearings  were  reported  and  consisted  of  1250  pages 
of  testimony.  The  questions  that  confronted  the  board 
were  not  alone  whether  or  not  the  wages  in  a  given  case 
should  be  raised,  but,  if  it  was  found  that  the  rate  was 
inadequate,  by  what  margin  should  it  be  increased?  It 
was  fairly  difficu't  to  arrive  at  principles  of  standardiza 
tion  applicable  to  so  many  roads,  and  to  fix  a  basis  of 
differentiation  for  the  many  and  complicated  branches 
of  employment.  The  whole  subject,  however,  had  our 
most  careful  and  painstaking  consideration.  We  took  up 
the  whole  intricate  problem  of  the  running  of  railroads, 
with  relation  to  the  several  kinds  of  work  performed  by 
the  engineers,  in  passenger  service,  freight  service,  in 
switching,  and  in  yard  work,  bearing  in  mind  always  that 
railways  were  public  utilities  and  that  the  necessities  and 
comfort  of  the  whole  people  depended  upon  their  func 
tioning;  and  that  therefore  the  necessity  for  uninter 
rupted  service  far  transcended  the  interests  of  either  the 
roads  on  the  one  side  or  the  employees  on  the  other. 

Our  decisions  as  finally  printed  made  a  book  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  pages.  One  of  our  chief  recom 
mendations  was  that  National  and  State  wage  commis 
sions  be  created  which  should  function  in  relation  to  labor 
engaged  in  public  utilities  as  the  public  service  commis 
sions  functioned  toward  capital.  I  quote  from  the  report: 

Especially  for  the  public  utilities  is  it  important  that  labor 
should  have  a  just  wage,  and  if  the  existing  wages  are  not  ade 
quate,  they  should  be  increased.  If  a  just  increase  in  wages 


202       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

places  the  public  utilities  in  a  position  that  does  not  enable 
them  to  secure  a  fair  return  upon  capital  invested  and  maintain 
a  proper  reserve,  they  should  be  allowed  to  increase  their  rates 
until  they  are  in  that  position. 

Another  point  upon  which  we  laid  stress  was  the  limita 
tion  of  the  right  to  strike: 

While  it  is  clear  from  the  public  point  of  view  that  a  con 
certed  strike  of  railway  employees  for  a  great  region  would  be  as 
intolerable  as  a  strike  of  the  postal  clerks;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
position  of  the  employees  is  a  very  natural  one.  They  feel  under 
existing  conditions  that  the  power  to  strike  is  their  only  weapon 
of  defense  against  employers  and  the  only  means  by  which  they 
can  enforce  a  betterment  of  their  conditions  of  service.  They 
realize,  too,  that  the  principle  of  concerted  action,  for  all  the 
railroads  in  a  great  section  of  the  country,  gives  them  a  most 
effective  weapon,  and  they  are  naturally  loath  to  relinquish 
or  impair  it. 

While  this  is  the  situation  under  the  present  conditions,  and 
the  railway  employees  feel  that  they  cannot  surrender  their 
right  to  strike,  the  necessity  would  no  longer  exist  for  the  exer 
cise  of  this  power,  if  there  were  a  wage  commission  which  would 
secure  them  just  wages. 

Finally,  it  is  the  belief  of  the  Board  that  in  the  last  analysis 
the  only  solution  —  unless  we  are  to  rely  solely  upon  the  re 
straining  power  of  public  opinion  —  is  to  qualify  the  principle 
of  free  contract  in  the  railroad  service.  A  strike  in  the  army  or 
navy  is  mutiny  and  universally  punished  as  such.  The  same 
principle  is  applied  to  seamen  because  of  the  public  necessity 
involved.  A  strike  among  postal  clerks,  as  among  the  teachers 
of  our  public  schools,  would  be  unthinkable.  In  all  these  cases, 
the  employment,  to  borrow  a  legal  phrase,  is  affected  with  a 
public  use;  and  this  of  necessity  qualifies  the  right  of  free  con 
certed  action  which  exists  in  private  employments. 

However,  if  the  principle  be  accepted  that  there  are  certain 
classes  of  service  thus  affected  with  a  public  interest  and  men 
who  enter  them  are  not  free  concertedly  to  quit  the  service, 
then  these  men  must  be  guarded  in  the  matter  of  wages  and 
conditions  by  public  protection;  and  this  it  is  believed  can  best 
be  done  through  an  interstate  wage  commission. 


INDUSTRIAL  CONFERENCE  203 

The  report  was  signed  by  six  members  of  the  board, 
Mr.  Willard  adding  an  explanatory  statement.  Mr. 
Morrissey  wrote  a  dissenting  opinion.  For  a  number  of 
years  the  findings  of  this  board,  with  slight  alterations, 
continued  to  be  effective  in  adjusting  wages  for  the  dif 
ferent  kinds  of  service  among  the  engineers,  and  in 
governing  conditions  and  number  of  working  hours  of  the 
employees. 

The  President's  Industrial  Conference  of  1919-20, 
of  which  I  was  a  member,  was  of  value  chiefly  in  that  it 
correlated  the  best  ideas  in  practice  throughout  the 
country  with  regard  to  the  prevention  and  relief  of  in 
dustrial  unrest  and  the  betterment  in  general  of  the  rela 
tionship  between  employer  and  employee,  and  that  it 
published  suggestions  based  on  these  ideas,  of  which  the 
main  points  were  the  following: 

1.  The  parties  to  the  dispute  may  voluntarily  submit  their 
differences  for  settlement  to  a  board,  known  as  a  Regional  Ad 
justment  Conference.   This  board  consists  of  four  representa 
tives  selected  by  the  parties,  and  four  others  in  their  industry 
chosen  by  them  and  familiar  with  their  problems.  The  board  is 
presided  over  by  a  trained  government  official,  the  regional 
chairman,  who  acts  as  a  conciliator.  If  a  unanimous  agreement 
is  reached,  it  results  in  a  collective  bargain  having  the  same 
effect  as  if  reached  by  joint  organization  in  the  shop. 

2.  If  the  Regional  Conference  fails  to  agree  unanimously, 
the  matter,  with  certain  restrictions,  goes,  under  the  agreement 
of  submission,  to  the  National  Industrial  Board,  unless  the 
parties  prefer  the  decision  of  an  umpire  selected  by  them. 

3.  The  voluntary  submission  to  a  Regional  Adjustment  Con 
ference  carries  with  it  an  agreement  by  both  parties  that  there 
shall  be  no  interference  with  production  pending  the  processes 
of  adjustment. 

4.  If  the  parties,  or  either  of  them,  refuse  voluntarily  to  sub 
mit  the  dispute  to  the  processes  of  the  plan  of  adjustment,  a 


204       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Regional  Board  of  Inquiry  is  formed  by  the  regional  chairman, 
of  two  employers  and  two  employees  from  the  industry,  and 
not  parties  to  the  dispute.  This  Board  has  the  right,  under 
proper  safeguards,  to  subpoena  witnesses  and  records,  and  the 
duty  to  publish  its  findings  as  a  guide  to  public  opinion. 

5.  The  National  Industrial  Board  in  Washington  has  general 
oversight  of  the  working  of  the  plan. 

6.  The  plan  is  applicable  also  to  public  utilities,  but  in  such 
cases,  the  government  agency,  having  power  to  regulate  the 
service,  has  two  representatives  in  the  Adjustment  Conference. 
Provision  is  made  for  prompt  report  of  its  findings  to  the  rate 
regulating  body.    The  Conference  makes  no  recommendation 
of  a  plan  to  cover  steam  railroads  and  other  carriers,  for  which 
legislation  has  recently  been  enacted  by  Congress.    (Esch- 
Cummins  Bill.) 

7.  The  plan  provides  machinery  for  prompt  and  fair  adjust 
ment  of  wages  and  working  conditions  of  government  em 
ployees.   It  is  especially  necessary  for  this  class  of  employees, 
who  should  not  be  permitted  to  strike. 

8.  The  plan  involves  no  penalties  other  than  those  imposed 
by  public  opinion.  It  does  not  impose  compulsory  arbitration. 
It  does  not  deny  the  right  to  strike.    It  does  not  submit  to 
arbitration  the  policy  of  the  "closed"  or  "open"  shop. 

9.  The  plan  is  national  in  scope  and  operation,  yet  it  is 
decentralized.   It  is  different  from  anything  in  operation  else 
where.   It  is  based  upon  American  experience  and  is  designed 
to  meet  American  conditions.    It  employs  no  legal  authority 
except  the  right  of  inquiry.    Its  basic  idea  is  stimulation  to 
settlement  of  differences  by  the  parties  in  conflict,  and  the 
enlistment  of  public  opinion  toward  enforcing  that  method  of 
settlement. 

Unfortunately  nothing  came  of  the  painstaking  work 
of  this  conference  beyond  the  publishing  of  its  final 
report  of  March  6,  1920. 

The  chairmanship  of  the  New  York  Public  Service 
Commission  did  not  at  all  appeal  to  me  when  first  Gov 
ernor  Whitman  offered  it  to  me.  The  commission  as  it 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  COMMISSION          205 

then  existed  had  unfortunately  lost  public  confidence  to 
a  large  extent,  and  I  felt  that  it  was  not  the  kind  of  service 
for  which  I  was  especially  qualified.  However,  it  was 
pointed  out  to  me  that  there  was  constant  danger  of 
strikes  on  the  part  of  the  thousands  of  workmen  engaged 
in  the  construction  of  subway  and  elevated  extensions, 
and  an  added  appeal  was  made  to  me  in  view  of  the  con 
siderable  experience  I  had  had  in  adjusting  labor  diffi 
culties.  And  so,  after  declining,  I  was  finally  prevailed 
upon  by  the  Governor  and  the  late  George  W.  Perkins, 
in  December,  1915,  to  accept  this  arduous  duty. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  I  had  accepted  the 
chairmanship,  the  Governor  received  a  communication 
from  William  Henry  Hodge,  the  distinguished  engineer, 
announcing  his  willingness  to  serve  on  the  commission, 
although  before  my  selection  he  had  refused  such  ap 
pointment.  The  other  members  of  the  commission  were: 
Charles  E.  Hervey,  William  Hay  ward,  and  Traverse  H. 
Whitney.  Messrs.  Hay  ward  and  Hodge  left  the  com 
mission,  when  we  entered  the  war,  to  join  the  army.  Mr. 
Hayward  was  commissioned  Colonel,  having  organized 
the  15th  New  York,  afterward  the  369th  United  States 
Infantry,  a  regiment  of  colored  men  who  performed  gal 
lant  service  in  France.  Mr.  Hodge  was  commissioned 
Major  and  was  promoted  to  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and 
gave  his  splendid  talents  to  the  services  of  his  country  in 
building  roads  to  the  battle  fronts  of  France.  Due  to  his 
strenuous  labors  over  there,  this  gifted  engineer  and 
exemplary  patriot  died  shortly  after  the  armistice. 

The  commission  had  charge  of  the  building  of  the  sub 
ways  and  elevated  lines  then  in  process,  as  well  as  the 
regulation  of  traffic  and  all  public  utilities.  As  the  war 
progressed,  it  became  clearer  that  our  country  would 
inevitably  be  drawn  in,  and  therefore  increasingly  im- 


206       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

portant  that  nothing  should  prevent  the  functioning  of 
our  public  utilities.  And  accordingly  it  was  not  long  be 
fore  my  services  as  adjuster  and  arbitrator  of  labor  diffi 
culties  were  needed.  The  cost  of  living  was  rapidly  rising, 
and  there  was  great  unrest  among  laborers;  and  the 
demand  for  skilled  and  unskilled  labor  grew  day  by  day. 
When  our  country  entered  the  war,  it  was  highly  impor 
tant  for  the  moral  effect  upon  our  own  people,  as  well  as 
to  avoid  giving  encouragement  to  our  enemies,  that  the 
transportation  system  of  our  greatest  metropolis  should 
operate  without  interruption.  During  the  following  year 
and  a  half  I  was  able  to  adjust  a  dozen  or  more  important 
labor  disputes  and  to  prevent  a  number  of  strikes.  The 
situation  was  complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  laborers 
were  not  employees  of  the  commission,  but  of  the  several 
contractors  to  whom  contracts  had  been  awarded  under 
conditions  of  fierce  competition,  so  that  every  increase  in 
wages  materially  affected  their  profits  and  in  the  end 
caused  many  of  them  to  suffer  considerable  loss.  I  had  to 
appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  both  sides,  and  it  is  a  pleasure 
to  be  able  to  state  that  in  every  instance  the  response  was 
most  gratifying. 


CHAPTER  IX 
IN  THE  CABINET 

Roosevelt  offers  me  a  place  in  his  Cabinet  —  I  retire  permanently  from  private 
business  —  I  become  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  — 
The  scope  of  the  department  —  My  bureau  chiefs  —  At  home  in  the  Venetian 
Palace  —  Cabinet  dinners  —  What  Roosevelt  drank  —  Roosevelt's  fondness 
for  terrapin  —  South  Carolina  labor  immigration  —  The  Japanese  question; 
the  "Gentlemen's  Agreement";  General  Kuroki's  visit;  the  courts  and  Jap 
anese  naturalization  —  My  trip  to  Hawaii;  Viscount  Ishii  —  Japanese  tran 
sits  between  Canada  and  Mexico;  Japanese  immigration  statistics;  I  suggest 
a  naturalization  treaty  with  Japan  —  Anti-Japanese  agitation  renewed  in 
California  —  The  Four  Power  Treaty  of  the  Washington  Conference  —  Im 
migration  head  tax  immunity  for  diplomats  —  Revision  of  naturalization  laws; 
prevention  of  fraudulent  naturalization  —  More  frequent  steamboat  inspec 
tion  —  The  Alaskan  salmon  fisheries  —  Organization  of  the  Council  of  Com 
merce,  predecessor  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States  —  The 
Council  of  Labor  —  Roosevelt's  Nobel  Peace  Prize  Foundation  —  A  visit  to 
Georgia;  my  old  homes  at  Columbus  and  Talbotton  —  Quentin  Roosevelt  — 
Social  life  in  Washington;  Christmas  celebration  in  the  White  House;  the 
President's  New  Year's  reception;  I  give  the  last  Cabinet  dinner. 

BEFORE  I  became  a  member  of  President  Roosevelt's 
official  family,  I  was  in  what  he  termed  his  "kitchen 
cabinet."  My  experiences  in  both  cabinets  are  among  the 
treasured  recollections  of  my  life. 

We  were  the  unofficial  advisers  who  met  round  the 
luncheon  and  dinner  table  and  afterwards  in  the  White 
House  study,  where  the  President  spoke  without  reserve 
of  his  executive  problems  and  read  for  our  criticism 
and  counsel  his  rough  drafts  of  congressional  messages, 
speeches,  and  notes  to  foreign  governments. 

Holding  no  portfolios  of  state,  these  "kitchen  cabinet 
ministers"  yet  gave  of  their  best;  were  always  prepared 
to  toil  to  any  extent  to  be  of  assistance  to  the  President. 
He  had  the  quality  of  vitalizing  things  —  a  situation  or 
condition  coming  within  his  executive  ken  became  so 


208       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

charged  with  life  and  imagination  that  men  wanted  to 
put  their  hands  and  minds  to  it.  They  served  Roosevelt 
as  energetically  and  loyally  as  if  the  grave  responsibilities 
of  state  were  upon  their  own  shoulders. 

International  relations  and  labor  arbitration  were  the 
public  activities  which  interested  me  most.  The  Presi 
dent  had  appointed  me  a  member  of  the  permanent 
board  of  arbitration  at  The  Hague  to  succeed  the  late 
Benjamin  Harrison,  and  shortly  thereafter  in  his  charm 
ing  manner  had  designated  me  as  a  member  of  his 
"kitchen  cabinet."  Thus  there  had  commenced  for  me 
a  memorable  series  of  conferences. 

There  is  much  misapprehension  regarding  Roosevelt's 
so-called  impulsiveness.  This  was  evident  to  those  who 
had  an  intimate  view  of  the  man  at  work.  He  was  quick. 
He  was  a  prodigious  worker.  He  was  so  constituted  and 
so  self -trained  that  he  had  to  do  things  immediately,  get 
them  out  of  the  way.  What  people  called  his  impulsive 
ness  might  have  been  more  aptly  termed  his  prepared 
ness. 

I  had  hundreds  of  opportunities  to  observe  his  meth 
ods.  When  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  deliver  an  ad 
dress  or  write  an  article,  he  would  prepare  it  immediately, 
even  if  the  occasion  were  two,  three,  or  six  months  off. 
He  revised  considerably,  showed  his  work  freely  to 
friends  and  associates  for  criticisms,  but  completed  it  at 
the  earliest  opportunity.  He  never  waited.  This  method 
served  to  perfect  his  thought  and  expression  on  a  given 
subject.  His  promptness  left  him  free  for  other  things. 

The  President  never  seemed  to  be  hurried,  though  he 
always  worked  with  a  wonderful  driving  force.  He 
seemed  never  to  waste  any  time.  It  was  play  or  work, 
and  both  with  his  whole  heart. 

His  public  addresses  were  almost  invariably  the  result 


ROOSEVELT'S  METHODS  209 

of  preparation.  It  was  seldom  that  he  spoke  extempo 
raneously.  The  fire  and  animation  which  he  imparted  in 
the  delivery  of  his  speeches  certainly  conveyed  no  im 
pression  that  they  might  have  been  carefully  prepared 
and  considered  at  a  desk  in  a  study.  The  pages  of  his 
manuscript  were  so  small  and  inconspicuous  that  they 
did  not  interfere  with  his  natural  gestures.  The  effect 
was  almost  as  if  he  spoke  extemporaneously.  The  written 
address,  printed  on  sheets  about  3x6  inches,  and  held 
in  one  hand,  was  completely  lost  sight  of  by  the  audience 
in  those  moments  when  Colonel  Roosevelt  became  em 
phatic.  In  those  moments  he  also  interspersed  extem 
poraneous  remarks  which  brought  out  his  arguments 
more  vividly  and  forcefully. 

I  stopped  in  Washington  and  called  on  President 
Roosevelt,  early  in  January  of  1906,  on  my  return  from  a 
short  vacation  in  the  South.  He  took  me  into  his  private 
room,  where  we  found  his  personal  and  political  friend, 
James  H.  Sheffield,  and  Senator  Spooner.  He  spoke 
about  the  political  changes  in  New  York,  the  defeat  of 
the  machine  in  that  State,  the  election  of  Herbert  Parsons 
as  chairman  of  the  County  Committee,  and  of  young 
Wads  worth  (now  United  States  Senator),  son-in-law  of 
John  Hay,  as  Speaker  of  the  House.  He  took  a  special  de 
light  in  the  election  of  both  of  these  men;  he  had  a  high 
regard  for  them  personally  and  for  what  they  stood.  He 
said  he  had  written  a  letter  to  Parsons  which  he  hoped 
would  be  helpful  to  him. 

The  President  asked  me  to  come  to  lunch  with  him, 
which  was  another  of  those  delightful,  informal  meetings. 
Besides  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  his  daughter  Alice,  and  her 
fiance,  there  were  William  Dudley  Foulke,  a  former  col 
league  of  the  President  on  the  Civil  Service  Commission 


210       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

and  friend  of  mine  from  my  college  days;  Robert  Hitt 
son  of  Congressman  Hitt;  and  Lieutenant  Fortescue,  an 
officer  of  the  Rough  Riders. 

After  luncheon,  the  President  asked  me  to  wait  for  him 
in  the  Red  Room,  as  he  wanted  to  have  a  talk  with  me. 
When  the  other  guests  had  departed,  he  came  back  to  me 
and  with  his  face  beaming  with  geniality  he  said:  "I  don't 
know  whether  you  know  it  or  not,  but  I  want  you  to 
become  a  member  of  my  Cabinet.  I  have  a  very  high 
estimate  of  your  character,  your  judgment,  and  your 
ability,  and  I  want  you  for  personal  reasons.  There  is 
still  a  further  reason:  I  want  to  show  Russia  and  some 
other  countries  what  we  think  of  the  Jews  in  this  country." 

Of  course  I  was  gratified,  very  much  gratified.  I  told 
him  I  had  heard  from  several  persons  that  he  had  spoken 
of  this  intention,  but  that  I  had  meant  to  take  no  notice 
of  it  until  he  should  speak  to  me  about  it;  that  I  should 
certainly  esteem  it  the  very  highest  honor  to  become  a 
member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  especially  to  have  the  priv 
ilege  of  working  alongside  of  him. 

"I  knew  you  would  feel  just  that  way;  therefore  I  was 
anxious  to  let  you  know  of  my  intention  as  long  in  ad 
vance  as  possible,"  replied  the  President.  He  said  all 
this  in  such  a  cordial  and  affectionate  manner  that  I  was 
profoundly  touched  with  this  manifestation  of  close 
friendship  for  me. 

He  then  added  that  he  could  not  see  that  it  would  do 
any  good,  and  might  do  harm,  to  make  further  protests  or 
utterances  regarding  the  massacres  in  Russia  under  the 
disorganized  conditions  there;  and  he  did  not  want  to  do 
anything  that  might  sound  well  here  and  have  just  the 
opposite  effect  there.  He  thought  it  would  be  much  more 
pointed  evidence  of  our  Government's  interest  if  he  put 
a  man  like  me  into  his  Cabinet,  and  that  such  a  course 


OFFERED  A  CABINET  POSITION 

would  doubtless  have  a  greater  influence  than  any  words 
with  the  countries  in  which  unreasonable  discrimination 
and  prejudice  prevailed. 

He  told  me  that  it  might  be  July  or  even  later  before 
he  could  carry  out  his  purpose.  He  would  prefer  to  put 
me  at  the  head  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  because  of  my  knowledge  in  that  field,  but  he 
could  not  determine  the  specific  position  until  later.  But 
at  any  rate,  I  was  to  regard  my  appointment  to  one  of 
the  Cabinet  positions  as  certain. 

He  asked  whether  I  knew  Senator  Platt,  and  indicated 
that  it  might  be  well  for  several  of  my  friends  to  have  a 
talk  with  the  Senator.  But  he  quickly  added  that  it 
would  make  no  difference  to  him  whether  it  suited  the 
New  York  Senator  or  not,  though  it  might  perhaps  be  a 
little  more  agreeable  if  I  did  not  have  the  latter's  opposi 
tion.  I  preferred  to  feel  that  my  selection  was  personal, 
which  it  really  was,  and  without  even  the  semblance  of 
political  influence;  so  I  did  not  ask  any  of  my  friends  to 
speak  to  Senator  Platt,  nor  did  I  think  he  would  oppose 
me. 

My  wife  and  the  rest  of  my  family  were  of  course 
elated  at  hearing  the  news,  particularly  my  brother 
Isidor,  whose  attitude  toward  me,  his  youngest  brother, 
was  always  more  like  that  of  an  affectionate  father  than 
a  brother.  I  felt  no  trepidation,  especially  should  I  be 
selected  for  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor. 
My  past  training  and  interest  in  many  of  the  subjects 
that  came  up  under  that  department  made  me  conversant 
with  the  main  questions  it  had  to  administer. 

Upon  my  return  to  New  York  I  began  to  make  ar 
rangements  for  severing  all  business  connections.  This 
I  thought  wise,  particularly  if  I  became  head  of  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  It  was  not  a 


UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

necessary  step,  but  I  wanted  it  never  to  be  said  that  I 
advocated  any  measure  or  made  any  decision  that  might 
in  the  remotest  way  be  of  advantage  to  my  private  in 
terests.  I  spoke  to  Roosevelt  about  my  intention,  and 
he  said  that  while  it  was  not  essential,  if  I  could  do  so  it 
would  on  the  whole  be  advisable;  that  situated  similarly 
he  would  do  the  same  thing  himself.  Before  assuming 
office,  therefore,  I  had  retired  from  business  for  good,  and 
I  have  not  since  that  time  been  connected  with  any  busi 
ness  for  personal  profit. 

My  nomination  was  officially  made  in  September,  but 
it  was  not  until  early  December,  1906,  that  I  received  a 
letter  from  William  Loeb,  Jr.,  the  President's  secretary, 
notifying  me  that  the  President  desired  me  to  assume 
office  on  December  17th.  On  that  day,  accordingly,  I 
appeared  at  9  A.M.  at  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  then  located  in  the  Willard  Building  across  the 
street  from  the  Hotel  Willard  on  Fourteenth  Street. 
There  I  met  my  predecessor,  Victor  H.  Metcalf,  who  had 
been  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Mr.  Metcalf 
welcomed  me  in  a  brief  address  and  introduced  me  to  the 
twelve  bureau  and  five  division  chiefs  of  the  department. 

The  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  was  the 
youngest  of  the  nine  departments  of  the  Government,  the 
bill  creating  it  having  been  approved  by  President  Roose 
velt  on  February  14,  1903.  Roosevelt  had  done  much  to 
establish  the  department  and  took  great  pride  in  it.  The 
first  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor  was  George  B. 
Cortelyou,  who  had  been  secretary  to  the  President,  and 
by  reason  of  his  intimate  relations  with  the  officials  of  the 
Government  was  admirably  equipped  to  organize  this 
department,  which  he  did  with  great  skill  and  administra 
tive  ability.  After  holding  the  office  for  about  a  year 
and  a  half,  Secretary  Cortelyou  became  Postmaster-Gen- 


IN  ROOSEVELT'S  CABINET  213 

eral,  and  Victor  H.  Metcalf,  Congressman  from  Califor 
nia,  was  appointed,  thereby  becoming  the  next  Secretary 
of  the  Department  on  July  1,  1904;  I  was  therefore  the 
third. 

The  scope  of  the  Department  as  constituted  then  was 
probably  the  largest  of  the  nine  branches  of  the  Govern 
ment.  It  was  charged  with  the  work  of  promoting  the 
commerce,  mining,  manufacturing,  shipping,  and  fishery 
industries  of  the  country,  as  well  as  its  transportation 
facilities  and  its  labor  interests;  in  addition  it  had 
jurisdiction  over  the  entire  subject  of  immigration.  It 
had  twelve  bureaus:  corporations;  manufactures;  labor; 
lighthouses;  census;  coast  and  geodetic  survey;  statistics, 
including  foreign  commerce;  steamboat  inspection;  im 
migration  and  naturalization;  and  standards. 

In  order  to  coordinate  the  work  of  these  various  bu 
reaus  I  instituted  the  simple  method  employed  by  large 
business  administrators  of  having  the  several  bureau 
chiefs  come  together  with  me  twice  a  month  to  discuss 
and  confer  regarding  the  more  important  administrative 
subjects.  This  enabled  me  to  keep  better  informed  and 
served  to  make  the  various  heads  of  bureaus  conversant 
with  the  whole  scope  of  the  Department,  preventing  over 
lapping  and  duplication  of  functions.  I  learned  that  this 
simple  administrative  method  had  never  been  made  use 
of  before  in  federal  departments,  but  thereafter  it  was 
adopted  by  several  of  the  other  department  heads. 

Thanks  to  Mr.  Cortelyou's  admirable  organization  of 
the  department,  I  found,  almost  without  exception,  a  fine 
and  competent  set  of  men  in  charge  of  its  several  branches. 
Some  of  them  were  friends  of  Roosevelt,  members  of  his 
"tennis  cabinet,"  and  were  thoroughly  imbued  with  his 
spirit  and  ideals.  The  assistant  secretary  was  Lawrence 
O.  Murray,  a  capable  and  conscientious  official.  James 


214       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

R.  Garfield,  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Corporations,  devoted 
himself  to  the  difficult  task  of  exposing  the  abuses  and 
legal  infractions  of  some  of  the  great  corporations,  and 
did  it  with  judgment  and  ability,  and  with  conspicuous 
courage.  Charles  P.  Neill,  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor, 
a  laboring  man  in  his  early  days,  and  afterwards  an  in 
structor  at  Notre  Dame,  and  professor  of  economics  at 
the  Catholic  University,  in  Washington,  D.C.,  was  em 
inently  qualified  for  his  duties  and  had  the  confidence 
alike  of  labor  leaders  and  employers.  Dr.  Samuel  W. 
Stratton,  a  scientist  of  distinction  and  a  fine  administra 
tor,  was  then  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Standards,  a  verit 
able  institution  of  science. 

Fortunately,  when  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  was  organized,  the  civil  service  law  applied  to  all 
appointments  excepting  bureau  chiefs,  so  that  I  was  able 
to  devote  my  time  to  the  duties  of  my  office,  free  from 
claims  of  patronage,  which  had  been  the  bane  of  the  older 
departments  of  the  Government  before  the  civil  service 
law  became  so  generally  operative. 

My  wife  had  so  promptly  put  our  household  in  order 
that  in  a  week  after  our  arrival,  we  were  comfortably 
installed  in  our  Washington  home,  No.  2600  Sixteenth 
Street,  a  house  known  as  the  "Venetian  Palace"  from 
the  style  of  its  architecture.  It  was  a  new  house,  built  by 
Mrs.  John  B.  Henderson,  and  well  suited  to  our  needs 
and  for  entertaining.  The  social  functions  in  Washington 
I  found  most  agreeable.  During  the  season  we  either  gave 
a  dinner  or  attended  a  dinner  on  an  average  of  five  eve 
nings  a  week,  but  these  occasions  were  not  burdensome 
because  they  usually  ended  by  ten-thirty  o'clock. 

According  to  custom,  President  Roosevelt  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  season  designated  the  date  on  which  each 
Cabinet  member  was  to  give  a  dinner  to  the  President, 


CABINET  DINNERS  215 

and  the  date  assigned  to  me  was  February  19th.  It  had 
been  usual  for  each  host  to  invite  to  this  dinner  all  the 
other  Cabinet  members  and  their  wives,  which  left  little 
opportunity  to  invite  others.  Roosevelt  changed  this 
custom  so  that  other  friends  of  the  host  were  invited 
rather  than  one's  fellow  members  in  the  Cabinet.  Foreign 
diplomats  also  were  not  invited,  the  entire  purpose  being 
to  give  these  occasions  the  character  of  intimate  gather 
ings,  not  large,  usually  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five 
guests. 

Our  dinner  went  pleasantly.  The  President  was  in  his 
usual  good  humor.  Wines  were  served  liberally,  but  it 
was  Roosevelt's  habit  to  drink  very  little.  This  I  had 
observed  on  several  previous  occasions,  both  at  the  White 
House  and  elsewhere.  Roosevelt  usually  took  some  white 
wine  with  apollinaris,  and  perhaps  a  glass  of  champagne. 
For  this  dinner  my  wife  had  secured  the  additional  serv 
ices  of  a  certain  colored  cook  in  Washington,  a  woman 
famous  for  preparing  terrapin,  which  was  one  of  Roose 
velt's  favorite  dishes. 

Tuesday  and  Friday  mornings,  beginning  at  eleven 
o'clock,  were  the  regular  days  for  the  meetings  of  the 
Cabinet,  then  as  now.  The  day  after  taking  office,  there 
fore,  I  attended  my  first  meeting,  taking  the  chair  as 
signed  to  me.  It  was  labeled  on  the  back  "Secretary  of 
Commerce  and  Labor,  December  17,  1906." 

The  Cabinet  table  is  oblong,  the  President  seated  at 
the  head,  and  to  his  right  and  his  left  the  secretaries  in  the 
order  in  which  their  departments  were  created  —  Secre 
tary  of  State  first  to  the  President's  right,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  first  to  the  left,  and  so  on.  Being  head  of 
the  ninth  and  youngest  Department,  my  seat  was  at 
the  foot  of  the  table,  opposite  the  President. 


216       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

The  meetings  were  informal  and  no  minutes  were  taken 
or  other  record  made.  After  some  brief  preliminary  talk, 
in  which  the  President  often  had  some  incident  to  relate 
or  some  amusing  caricature  or  savage  attack  upon  him 
self  to  exhibit,  the  business  of  the  day  began.  The  Presi 
dent  calls  on  every  secretary,  but  in  no  fixed  order.  He 
presents  such  matters  as  he  may  deem  important,  and 
upon  which  he  may  want  discussion  and  advice. 

At  this  meeting  I  intended  not  to  bring  up  anything, 
preferring  to  wait,  as  the  saying  is,  until  I  got  "warm  in 
my  seat."  But  an  important  matter  had  come  up  that 
very  morning  upon  which  I  had  made  a  decision,  based 
on  the  carefully  reasoned  opinion  by  the  solicitor  of  the 
department,  Mr.  Charles  Earl.  The  State  of  South 
Carolina,  under  one  of  its  recent  laws,  had  authorized  its 
State  Commissioner  of  Immigration  to  go  to  Europe  and 
select  a  number  of  skilled  factory  hands  for  the  industrial 
establishments  of  the  State.  There  were  about  four  hun 
dred  and  fifty  of  these  immigrants,  and  there  was  some 
question  about  admitting  them.  The  Immigration  Law 
of  1903,  as  well  as  previous  laws,  excepted  the  State  from 
its  contract  labor  clauses,  and  I  therefore  decided  upon 
their  admission. 

Indeed,  no  subject  in  the  department  occupied  my 
daily  attention  to  the  extent  that  immigration  did. 
Fortunately,  at  the  chief  port  of  entry,  Ellis  Island  in  the 
New  York  Bay,  there  was  a  capable,  conscientious, 
efficient  commissioner,  Robert  Watchorn. 

The  right  of  the  immigrant  to  land,  after  his  medical 
examination,  was  based  upon  the  decision  of  a  board  of 
inquiry.  This  board  often  made  hurried  and  ill-con 
sidered  decisions,  especially  when  the  immigration  was 
large.  In  the  case  of  exclusion,  the  immigrant  has  the 
right  to  appeal  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of 


IMMIGRATION  SUBJECTS  217 

Commerce  and  Labor.  Of  course,  cases  coming  under 
certain  portions  of  the  exclusion  provisions,  such  as  con 
tract  labor,  mental  deficiency,  affliction  with  loathsome 
and  contagious  diseases,  were  easily  enough  disposed  of; 
but  under  the  provision  "Likely  to  become  a  public 
charge"  there  was  room  for  the  personal  attitude  of  the 
members  of  the  board,  and  the  fate  of  the  immigrant  then 
depended  on  whether  or  not  these  men  were  restriction- 
ists.  I  felt  that  there  was  a  domestic  tragedy  involved  in 
every  one  of  these  cases,  and  as  the  law  placed  the  ulti 
mate  decision  upon  the  Secretary,  I  decided  this  respon 
sibility  was  one  that  should  not  be  delegated;  so  day  by 
day  I  took  up  these  decisions  myself,  frequently  taking 
the  papers  home  with  me  and  carefully  reviewing  them 
before  retiring. 

Important  among  the  immigration  subjects  were  those 
which  presented  phases  of  the  Japanese  question,  the  im 
migration  en  masse  of  Japanese  to  the  Pacific  Coast  States, 
California  in  particular.  The  question  was  brought  up  by 
Secretary  Root  at  one  of  the  Cabinet  meetings.  The  city 
of  San  Francisco  had  taken  action  excluding  Japanese 
from  the  public  schools.  It  was  deemed  detrimental  for 
the  white  children  of  tender  ages  to  be  in  the  same  classes 
with  older  and  even  adult  Japanese  who  came  to  these 
schools  to  learn  English.  My  predecessor,  who  was  a 
resident  of  California,  had  investigated  and  was  con 
versant  with  all  aspects  of  the  case. 

The  President  insisted  that,  as  it  directly  affected  the 
relations  between  the  two  nations,  it  was  a  national  con 
cern.  Several  members  of  the  Cabinet  also  regarded  the 
subject  as  one  having  serious  probabilities.  Secretary 
Root  asked  me  whether  I  could  furnish  some  data  as  to 
the  use  made  of  Hawaii  by  Japanese  immigrants  for  cir- 


218       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

cum  venting  our  contract  labor  law,  as  many  of  the  Japa 
nese  immigrants  were  coming  to  the  mainland  via  Hawaii. 
Upon  looking  into  this  question  I  found  during  the  year 
previous  fully  two  thirds  of  the  Japanese  came  via 
Hawaii.  The  President  took  the  situation  in  hand  and 
had  the  mayor  of  San  Francisco  and  other  leaders  of  the 
Japanese  agitation  come  to  Washington. 

The  obnoxious  matter  was  finally  adjusted  with  Japan 
in  a  manner  to  allay  irritation  by  a  "  Gentlemen's  Agree 
ment,"  by  which  that  country  itself  was  to  prevent  the 
emigration  of  its  laboring  classes.  It  was,  of  course,  much 
better  that  the  Japanese  interdict  emigration  of  their  own 
people  than  that  we  offend  that  nation's  pride  by  pre 
venting  their  entrance,  although  it  was  made  clear  that 
we  should  pass  an  exclusion  law  if  they  did  not  take 
prompt  and  effective  action. 

With  some  exceptions,  this  plan  worked  well.  The 
whole  Japanese  question,  however,  was  still  smouldering. 
A  few  months  later,  during  a  call  at  the  Department,  the 
Japanese  ambassador  mentioned  to  me  that  in  some  parts 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  the  Japanese  were  being  molested 
in  the  streets  and  that,  of  course,  such  things  made  bad 
blood  and  stirred  up  the  people  in  Japan,  with  which  I 
had  to  agree.  I  admitted  that  this  was  an  outrage,  stat 
ing  that  I  was  sure  our  respective  governments  would 
do  all  in  their  power  to  maintain  good  relations,  to  which 
he  replied  that  he  did  not  see  how  those  good  relations 
could  be  disturbed. 

Ambassador  Aoki  then  referred  to  the  naturalization  of 
his  countrymen  in  the  United  States.  I  told  him  that  on 
that  question  I  agreed  entirely  with  the  President,  who 
in  one  of  his  recent  speeches  had  dwelt  emphatically  on 
it,  advocating  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  Japanese  the 
same  as  accorded  to  other  aliens.  He  then  mentioned  the 


THE  JAPANESE  QUESTION  219 

Executive  Order  of  the  President  with  reference  to  Japa 
nese  immigration  and  the  regulations  for  the  enforcement 
of  it.  I  told  him  I  had  these  regulations  in  hand  and  he 
could  rely  upon  me  to  make  them  so  as  to  avoid  every 
possible  friction  and  reflect  in  every  way  the  broad  and 
liberal  spirit  of  the  administration;  also  that  under  the 
immigration  act  the  matter  was  to  a  large  extent  in 
the  control  of  Japan  in  issuing  limited  passports  to  the 
special  classes  affected,  namely,  skilled  and  unskilled 
labor. 

After  one  of  the  Cabinet  meetings  I  had  a  conversation 
with  Secretary  Root  and  submitted  to  him  redrafted  reg 
ulations  for  any  suggestion  or  amendment  that  might 
appear  to  him  desirable,  for  I  was  anxious  that  the  Sec 
retary  of  State  should  give  the  regulations  critical  ex 
amination,  in  view  of  their  affecting  our  relations  with 
Japan.  He  returned  them  to  me  within  a  few  days  with 
one  or  two  slight  changes,  which  I  adopted,  and  out  of 
them  grew  the  "limited  passports"  provision  of  the  Im 
migration  Act  of  1907. 

From  time  to  time  I  brought  up  the  Japanese  situation 
and  emphasized  that  I  regarded  it  in  a  most  serious  light. 
Meanwhile,  whenever  the  opportunity  presented  itself  I 
did  whatever  was  possible  to  promote  good- will  between 
the  two  countries.  Japan's  great  military  chief,  General 
Tamemoto  Kuroki,  paid  a  visit  to  the  United  States,  and 
was  given  a  gala  dinner  at  the  Hotel  Astor  in  New  York, 
following  ovations  to  him  all  the  way  across  the  continent 
from  the  time  he  landed  at  San  Francisco.  There  were 
over  a  thousand  guests.  Admiral  Dewey  was  presiding 
officer;  John  H.  Finley  was  toastmaster,  and  it  was  felt 
he  was  particularly  chosen,  being  president  of  the  College 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  because  of  the  protest  this 
would  imply  against  the  exclusion  of  Japanese  children 


220       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

from  the  San  Francisco  public  schools.  I  was  invited  to 
deliver  an  address,  in  which  I  said : 

The  Government  and  people  of  Japan,  not  unmindful  of  the 
good-will  and  early  friendship  of  our  country,  are  too  wise  to 
permit  the  San  Francisco  school  incident,  which  was  fostered 
by  ignorance  and  propagated  by  injustice,  to  cloud  their  just 
appreciation  of  the  enlightened  spirit  of  American  institutions. 

Captain  Tanaka,  of  General  Kuroki's  staff,  had  handed 
me  in  translation  a  message  that  the  General  had  prepared 
for  the  American  people,  which  I  read  in  the  course  of  my 
address.  It  was  as  follows: 

The  Japanese  people  love  peace.  They  fought  for  peace. 
My  nation  wants  peace  in  which  to  develop  the  opportunities 
that  are  hers.  We  have  no  other  desire. 

The  profession  which  I  have  the  misfortune  to  follow  is  noble 
only  because  sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  establish  conditions 
in  which  peace  may  be  maintained  and  in  which  the  arts  of 
peace  may  flourish. 

To  this  I  added  that  nobler  sentiments  never  fell  from  the 
lips  of  a  conquering  hero,  and  they  would  stand  beside 
those  uttered  by  our  hero  of  the  Appomattox:  "Let  us 
have  peace."  This  was  received  with  much  enthusi 
asm. 

Early  in  June,  1907,  there  was  another  outbreak  in  San 
Francisco  against  the  restaurant  keepers,  and  telegrams 
from  Tokyo  told  of  the  irritation  this  caused  among  the 
people  in  Japan.  At  the  Cabinet  meeting  I  took  the 
subject  up  again  with  considerable  emphasis.  I  pointed 
out  that  these  incidents  were  accumulating  and  were 
bristling  with  grave  consequences;  that  Japan  had  come 
into  the  front  rank  among  nations  and  could  not  afford 
to  permit  us  or  any  other  nation  to  slap  her,  as  it  were, 
in  the  face,  or  to  treat  her  even  in  small  things  as  a  nation 
of  inferior  race.  I  brought  up  the  subject  of  Japanese  nat- 


JAPANESE  NATURALIZATION 

uralization.  As  the  law  stood,  a  Japanese  could  not  be 
naturalized,  according  to  the  rulings  of  one  or  two  judges 
of  the  United  States  courts;  but  the  subject  had  never 
been  finally  decided.  A  short  time  previous  to  this  a 
Japanese  seaman  in  Florida  had  filed  a  petition  for 
naturalization  which  was  granted,  and  I  referred  the 
matter  to  the  Attorney-General  to  see  whether  that 
would  not  afford  an  incident  wherewith  to  test  the  law. 
But  no  action  was  taken. 

At  first  the  President  did  not  seem  to  attach  to  the 
subject  the  importance  that  I  did,  but  Secretary  Root 
immediately  spoke  up  that  he  agreed  with  my  view  of  it, 
and  as  the  discussion  went  along,  the  rest  of  the  Cabinet, 
as  well  as  the  President,  gradually  came  over  to  my  view. 
At  the  end  the  President  remarked:  "I  am  very  glad  you 
brought  up  that  subject." 

During  the  discussion  I  reviewed  the  whole  legal  aspect 
of  the  matter,  and  referred  to  the  fact  that  the  several 
decisions  made  had  been  based  on  Chinese  precedents. 
I  also  touched  on  the  ethnological  aspect,  that  it  was 
doubtful  whether  the  Japanese  could  be  classed  as  Mon 
golians.  This  phase  appealed  to  Roosevelt,  who  seemed 
well  informed  in  ethnological  studies.  I  felt  rather 
gratified  with  this  thorough  discussion  of  the  subject.  It 
had  interested  me  for  years,  and  I  had  been  ruminating 
on  it  for  several  weeks. 

At  the  last  Cabinet  meeting  before  the  vacation  season, 
each  member  referred  to  his  plans  for  the  summer.  I  had 
decided  to  combine  business  with  pleasure  by  taking  a 
trip  along  the  Canadian  border  from  Montreal  to  Van 
couver  to  inspect  the  lighthouse  and  immigration  serv 
ices,  then  down  the  Pacific  Coast  and  to  Hawaii,  where  I 
might  acquaint  myself  with  regard  to  immigration  as  it 


222       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

affected  the  Japanese  question.  The  President  thought 
this  would  be  a  useful  trip  and  urged  me  to  take  it. 

In  the  administration  of  a  department  such  as  that  of 
Commerce  and  Labor,  it  was  important  to  familiarize 
one's  self  as  much  as  possible  with  its  outlying  branches, 
to  become  personally  acquainted  with  the  various  officers 
and  the  details  of  their  work  and  surroundings,  thereby  to 
enable  one  better  to  do  the  administrative  work  than  by 
remaining  at  one's  desk. 

After  leaving  Vancouver  we  stopped  a  few  days  each 
at  Seattle,  Portland,  and  San  Francisco,  where  I  conferred 
with  the  officials  of  the  Department.  From  San  Francisco 
we  took  a  steamer  to  Hawaii,  on  board  which  we  met 
George  R.  Carter,  Governor  of  Hawaii,  returning  from 
a  vacation  in  the  United  States,  and  Congressman  and 
Mrs.  Nicholas  Longworth.  It  made  a  very  pleasant  party. 

The  authorities  and  the  population  gave  us  a  rousing 
welcome,  cannons  saluted,  and  the  militia  was  out  to 
escort  us.  Only  once  before  since  the  island  became 
United  States  territory  had  a  Cabinet  official  paid  a  visit, 
and  that  was  two  years  before  when  Secretary  of  War 
Taft  stopped  there  for  a  few  days  en  route  to  Japan.  We 
were  comfortably  installed  in  the  Hotel  Moana,  in  the 
suburb  of  Waikiki. 

The  islanders  showered  upon  us  bounteous  hospitality 
in  every  conceivable  form.  We  participated  in  rounds  of 
dinners  and  receptions.  Governor  and  Mrs.  Carter  enter 
tained  the  Longworths  and  us  in  the  official  residence,  the 
former  palace  of  the  Hawaiian  rulers,  in  the  throne  room 
of  which  hung  the  portraits  of  those  rulers  from  earliest 
times  to  the  deposed  Queen  Liliuokalani.  The  reception 
was  a  brilliant  occasion.  The  leading  officials  and  the 
elite  of  the  population  were  there;  the  grounds  were 
beautifully  illuminated;  and  the  Royal  Hawaiian  Band 


MY  TRIP  TO  HAWAH 

played  the  soft,  plaintive  music  so  typical  of  the  mild 
temperament  of  the  people  and  the  luxuriant  foliage  of 
the  island.  My  time  was  much  taken  up  with  official  and 
semi-official  duties.  The  island  residents  impressed  me 
with  the  great  need  for  better  shipping  facilities  between 
the  mainland  and  the  islands.  The  coastwise  shipping 
laws  applying  to  them  since  annexation  penalized  the 
carrying  of  passengers  or  freight  in  other  than  American 
bottoms.  Foreign  ships  accepting  either  passengers  or 
freight  to  American  ports  on  the  coast  were  heavily  fined. 
The  result  was,  not  only  inconvenience  to  residents  who 
for  one  reason  or  another  needed  to  leave  the  islands,  but 
the  loss  of  much  perishable  freight,  principally  fruit, 
which  rotted  on  the  wharves  waiting  for  American  ships. 
I  promised  them  that  I  would  do  everything  in  my  power 
to  help  them  get  the  shipping  facilities  they  needed. 

A  delegation  of  Japanese  editors,  representing  the  four 
Japanese  newspapers  of  Honolulu,  called  to  ascertain 
my  views  regarding  Japanese  matters  in  the  islands, 
what  my  policy  was  with  regard  to  Japanese  immigra 
tion,  and  whether  I  believed  that  the  preponderance  of 
Japanese  people  in  Hawaii  was  inimical  to  the  interests 
of  the  territory.  I  answered  them: 

An  ideal  condition  for  the  future  welfare  of  these  islands 
would  be  that  there  should  not  be  too  great  a  preponderance  of 
any  one  race,  but  that  an  equilibrium  be  maintained. 

I  would  impress  upon  you,  and  upon  each  of  the  several  races 
here,  to  have  a  care  not  to  exploit  these  islands  and  their  re 
sources  for  the  benefit  of  the  country  from  which  they  come, 
but  to  act  in  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  government  under 
which  they  live;  of  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  the  islands  which 
afford  such  happy  and  ideal  homes  for  them  and  their  children. 
I  am  gratified  that  the  public  school  system  has  such  a  great 
influence  upon  the  young,  who  grow  up  with  the  American 
ideals  and  respect  for  the  liberty  of  the  individual.  I  would  like 


224       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

to  see  an  increasing  number  of  Americans  from  the  mainland 
come  and  settle  in  these  islands,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to 
guarantee  for  all  time  to  come  the  continuance  of  the  American 
spirit  for  the  benefit  and  welfare  of  all  peoples  who  have  made 
and  will  make  their  homes  here. 

Unfortunately  the  time  at  my  disposal  did  not  permit 
my  visiting  the  various  islands.  We  did,  however,  see 
everything  to  be  seen  at  Oahu,  the  island  upon  which 
Honolulu  is  situated.  Rear- Admiral  Very  took  us  on  the 
U.S.S.  Iroquois  to  visit  Pearl  Harbor,  the  famous  land 
locked  bay  large  enough  to  shelter  the  battle  fleets  of 
several  nations.  We  also  visited  the  Waialua  pineapple 
plantation  and  cannery,  where  twenty  thousand  cans  of 
the  large,  luscious  fruit  were  put  up  daily.  The  processes 
of  paring,  coring,  slicing,  and  canning  were  done  by 
machinery  with  great  speed,  and  we  enjoyed  tasting  the 
fruit  as  much  as  any  school  children  might. 

In  Honolulu  I  met  Viscount  Ishii,  who  was  then  Japa 
nese  under-Secretary  of  State.  He  has  since  been  ambas 
sador  at  Washington  and  at  this  writing  is  ambassador  at 
Paris.  We  had  frequent  conferences  and  went  over  the 
whole  Japanese  question.  He  had  fully  informed  himself 
upon  all  phases  of  the  subject,  as  well  as  regarding  the 
idiosyncrasies  of  the  Pacific  Coast  States  in  opposing  the 
immigration  of  Japanese  laborers.  Ishii's  thorough  under 
standing  of  the  situation  at  that  time  did  much  to  smooth 
ruffled  feelings  in  Japan.  The  Viscount  returned  to  the 
States  on  the  steamer  with  us. 

As  we  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  on  the  Asia,  bedecked 
with  Hawaiian  flowers,  the  Royal  Hawaiian  Band  played 
its  farewell  music.  The  last  words  we  heard  from  the 
Hawaiian  shore  were  "Aloha  Nui,"  the  Hawaiian  fare 
well. 

I  had  satisfied  myself  that,  so  far  as  concerned  the  carry- 


MY  TRIP  TO  HAWAII  225 

ing  out  of  the  President's  Executive  Order  of  March  14, 
1907,  the  Japanese  officials  in  both  Hawaii  and  Japan 
were  doing  everything  in  their  power.  Hawaii  at  the 
time  had  a  population  of  about  160,000,  in  round  figures, 
of  which  about  80,000  were  Japanese,  20,000  Chinese, 
and  25,000  native  Hawaiians.  Of  the  white  element  the 
biggest  percentage  were  Portuguese,  who  numbered 
about  22,000,  while  all  other  Caucasians  together,  prin 
cipally  American,  British,  and  German,  numbered 
14,000.  It  therefore  behooved  our  officials  on  the  islands, 
in  the  Pacific  ports,  and  along  the  Mexican  border,  to  be 
especially  watchful  to  carry  out  the  regulations  which 
the  Department  had  formulated  with  regard  to  the  admis 
sion  of  Japanese  or  Korean  skilled  and  unskilled  labor. 

Soon  after  my  return  I  had  a  conference  with  the 
President  at  Oyster  Bay.  The  President  informed  me 
that  Secretary  Taft  was  about  to  leave  for  Japan,  to  go 
from  there  to  Russia  by  the  Siberian  Railroad.  He  said 
he  had  authorized  him  to  see  what  could  be  done  toward 
overcoming  the  difficulties  in  our  relations,  and  what 
might  be  the  effect  in  Japan  if  we  were  to  endeavor  to 
pass  a  law  giving  naturalization  to  Japanese  exclusive  of 
the  laboring  classes  and  the  small  traders  who  practically 
belonged  to  the  same  class.  This  subject  the  President 
had  urged  in  his  last  Message  to  Congress. 

On  October  25th  I  brought  up  in  the  Cabinet  meeting, 
for  the  information  of  the  President,  statistics  regarding 
Japanese  immigration  up  to  October  1,  1907,  which 
showed  that  the  immigration  for  the  twelve  months  then 
ended  was  almost  double  that  of  the  preceding  twelve 
months,  and  also  that  there  had  been  an  appreciable 
increase  since  April  1,  when  the  President's  Executive 
Order  went  into  effect,  compared  with  the  previous 


226       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

months.  The  statistics  regarding  the  transit  of  Japanese 
between  Mexico  and  Canada  showed  that  something  like 
six  hundred  and  seventy  registered  from  April  to  Septem 
ber,  but  only  about  one  third  that  number  actually  made 
the  transits.  It  was  presumed,  therefore,  that  the  rest  got 
off  within  United  States  territory. 

The  President  seemed  very  much  annoyed  with  this 
condition  of  things.  I  recalled  to  his  mind  that  when  the 
regulations  under  his  Executive  Order  were  originally 
presented  by  me,  they  contained  a  clause,  along  the  lines 
of  the  Chinese  regulation  on  the  subject,  to  prevent  the 
abuse  of  transit  privileges,  but  that  he  and  the  Cabinet 
had  decided  it  to  be  unwise  to  put  in  that  clause.  A  few 
months  thereafter,  when  we  first  suspected  the  abuse  of 
transit  privileges,  I  directed  an  accurate  account  to  be 
taken  of  these  transits,  the  result  of  which  I  now  pre 
sented. 

The  first  impulse  of  the  President  was  to  direct  that 
all  transit  be  denied,  but  I  pointed  out  that  that  would 
raise  considerable  objection,  as  it  would  place  the  Japa 
nese  in  a  special  class  in  that  respect.  He  insisted  that 
something  must  be  done.  I  suggested  that  the  problem 
needed  careful  thought  and  I  would  take  it  up  and  pre 
pare  regulations  similar  to  those  for  the  Chinese.  This  I 
did,  and  the  Japanese  regulations  differ  only  in  that  we 
do  not  require  the  photographing  of  the  person  to  make 
the  transit. 

I  did  not  propose  to  drop  the  matter  of  Japanese  im 
migration  and  naturalization.  Again  and  again  I  brought 
it  up  in  Cabinet  meetings.  I  believed  the  best  way  of 
adjusting  the  difficulties  was  to  try  to  negotiate  a  treaty 
with  Japan  permitting  the  naturalization  of  Japanese 
other  than  laboring  classes,  and  in  return  excluding  all 
who  came  within  the  category  of  skilled  or  unskilled 


JAPANESE  NATURALIZATION 

labor.  The  belief  that  such  a  treaty  could  be  negotiated 
was  confirmed  by  my  talks  with  Ishii  both  at  Honolulu 
and  later  when  he  visited  Washington.  The  right  to 
naturalization  would  be  taken  advantage  of  by  only  five 
or  six  thousand  and  would  not,  of  course,  be  granted  to 
the  laborers  then  resident  in  the  United  States. 

There  were  about  seventy-three  thousand  Japanese  in 
the  United  States,  and  it  was  fair  to  assume  that  two 
thirds  of  these  were  of  the  laboring  class.  Of  the  re 
mainder  there  was  a  small  percentage  of  women  and 
children,  and  then  there  were  those  born  in  America. 
Japanese  eligible  for  citizenship  would  therefore  not 
exceed  ten  or  twelve  thousand,  and  it  was  reasonable  to 
assume  that  not  more  than  half  of  them  would  be  willing 
to  throw  off  their  native  allegiance.  My  belief  was  that 
such  an  adjustment  of  the  problem  would  leave  no  irrita 
tion  behind  it. 

The  President  did  not  think  such  a  treaty  would  be 
confirmed  by  the  Senate,  and  to  have  it  rejected  would 
make  matters  worse.  Secretary  Metcalf  thought  the 
California  members  would  not  agree  to  such  an  arrange 
ment.  Notwithstanding  these  objections  I  was  of  the 
opinion  that  such  force  of  argument  could  be  found  in 
favor  of  the  arrangement  that  even  representatives  from 
California  would  not  fail  to  see  its  advantage. 

The  whole  question  simmered  along  for  a  year  or  more, 
during  which  our  understanding  with  Japan  in  regard  to 
the  "Gentlemen's  Agreement"  and  the  regulations  under 
it  were  put  into  concrete  and  final  shape;  that  is,  a  letter 
was  written  by  the  Japanese  ambassador  to  our  Secretary 
of  State  setting  forth  the  understanding  of  Japan,  to 
which  the  Secretary  replied  accepting  that  understanding 
and  setting  forth  the  amicable  relations  existing  between 
the  two  countries. 


228       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

In  late  January,  1909,  there  was  a~recrudescence  of 
anti-Japanese  legislation  in  California.  There  were  intro 
duced  in  the  State  legislature  three  bills:  (a)  to  exclude 
Japanese  from  ownership  of  land;  (b)  to  segregate  the 
Japanese  in  special  districts  of  the  city;  (c)  to  prohibit 
Japanese  from  attending  the  public  schools.  With  his 
usual  good  judgment  the  President  telegraphed  the 
Governor  of  California  saying  he  was  writing  him  and 
asking  that  he  withhold  any  legislation  affecting  the 
Japanese  until  the  receipt  of  that  letter.  For  the  time 
being  this  action  had  the  desired  effect. 

The  legislature  of  California  was  somewhat  under  the 
influence  of  agitators,  like  the  Japanese  and  Korean 
Restriction  League  and  some  labor  bodies.  It  was  be 
lieved  that  the  general  sentiment  of  California  was 
against  such  legislation,  but  either  to  avoid  conflict,  or 
from  indifference  or  lack  of  public  spirit,  such  sentiment 
did  not  make  its  influence  felt.  I  had  given  out  figures 
from  month  to  month  showing  the  number  of  immigrants 
from  Japan  as  compared  with  previous  figures.  I  then 
made  public  statistics  which  showed  that  for  the  calendar 
year  1907  the  number  of  immigrants  was  12,400,  whereas 
for  the  calendar  year  1908,  after  the  Japanese  Govern 
ment  had  taken  the  matter  in  hand  in  accordance  with 
the  "Gentlemen's  Agreement,"  the  number  of  immi 
grants  was  4400.  Deducting  the  figure  for  the  emigration 
from  that  4400  left  a  total  increase  of  Japanese  population 
of  only  185  for  the  year.  The  California  agitators  claimed 
my  figures  were  erroneous,  and  that  hordes  of  Japanese 
were  surreptitiously  coming  from  the  Canadian  and 
Mexican  borders.  I  gave  out  several  interviews  to  the 
press  to  the  effect  that  the  figures  were  absolutely  correct; 
that  it  was  absurd  to  deny  their  correctness  as  I  had 
proofs  in  my  hands;  and  that  if  the  Calif  or  nians  still 


THE  FOUR  POWER  TREATY  229 

doubted  them  a  committee  might  call  on  me  and  I  should 
gladly  lay  my  proofs  before  them.  I  had  sent  a  copy  of 
these  figures,  certified  by  me,  to  the  California  authorities. 

Happily  our  relations  with  Japan  are  now  more  peace 
ful  than  they  have  been  for  some  time,  and  to  a  large 
degree  this  has  been  accomplished  by  the  Four  Power 
Treaty  negotiated  at  the  Washington  Conference  on  the 
Limitation  of  Armaments  in  December,  1921.  The  vari 
ous  vexatious  instances  that  I  have  referred  to  were  stim 
ulated  by  German  officers  stationed  in  the  Far  East  and 
fostered  by  the  sensational  press  in  both  Japan  and  our 
own  country.  By  this  means  these  happenings  were 
exaggerated  far  beyond  their  significance.  The  Anglo- 
Japanese  Alliance  of  1911  came  into  being  because  of  the 
aggression  of  Germany  and  Russia  in  the  Far  East. 
After  the  World  War,  of  course,  this  condition  no  longer 
obtained,  and  as  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  alliance  had 
therefore  vanished,  there  was  a  justified  feeling  in  America 
that  the  continuance  of  the  treaty  was  a  menace  to  our 
country.  This  fact  was  not  unrecognized  in  Great  Britain 
itself.  As  Mr.  Balfour  stated  at  the  Washington  Con 
ference,  it  was  necessary  to  "annul,  merge,  destroy,  as  it 
were,  this  ancient  and  outward  and  unnecessary  agree 
ment,  and  replace  it  by  something  new,  something  ef 
fective,  which  should  embrace  all  the  powers  concerned 
in  the  vast  area  of  the  Pacific."  By  the  Four  Power 
Treaty  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance  was  automatically 
discontinued,  and  Great  Britain,  the  United  States, 
France,  and  Japan  became  associated  in  friendly  partner 
ship  as  guardians  of  the  peace  in  the  Far  East. 

So  far  as  concerns  the  relationship  between  our  country 
and  Japan,  the  transcendent  importance  of  this  treaty 
has  been  to  supersede  and  overshadow  all  these  minor 


230       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

matters  that  before  were  continually  menacing  our  good 
relations.  By  the  reservations  prepared  by  the  American 
delegates,  and  accepted  by  the  other  powers,  it  is  pro 
vided  that  the  treaty  "shall  not  be  taken  to  embrace 
questions  which  according  to  principles  of  international 
law  lie  exclusively  within  the  domestic  jurisdiction  of  the 
respective  powers."  Verily  this  treaty  stands  out  as  one 
of  the  great  achievements  of  the  Washington  Conference. 

To  return  to  immigration  problems  during  my  incum 
bency  as  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  a  minor  though  nevertheless  annoying  matter 
needing  adjustment  was  the  regulation  with  regard  to  the 
head  tax.  After  the  passage  of  the  Immigration  Law  of 
1903  a  head  tax  of  two  dollars  was  levied  upon  all  alien 
passengers,  including  even  officials  of  foreign  govern 
ments.  In  1905  Attorney-General  Moody  had  given  an 
opinion  to  the  effect  that  the  tax  applied  to  all  alien 
passengers,  whether  officers  of  foreign  governments  or 
not.  I  thought  this  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations  and 
to  well-established  diplomatic  usages  recognized  through 
out  the  world. 

As  the  subject  also  came  within  the  province  of  another 
department,  namely,  the  Department  of  State,  I  natu 
rally  brought  it  up  at  a  Cabinet  meeting.  The  President 
recommended  that  I  issue  orders  in  accordance  with  my 
suggestion,  and  Secretary  Root  agreed  that  it  was  an 
outrage  to  levy  such  a  tax  upon  the  representatives  of 
foreign  governments.  Informally  I  took  the  matter  up 
with  Attorney-General  Bonaparte,  but  as  the  decision 
against  this  immunity  had  been  made  by  his  Department 
he  felt  himself  bound  by  the  decision  of  his  predecessor. 
He  suggested  that  I  issue  the  order  on  my  own  respon 
sibility,  but  I  decided  for  the  time  being  not  to  do  so.  At 


THE  IMMIGRATION  HEAD  TAX         231 

a  later  Cabinet  meeting  I  again  brought  up  the  matter, 
this  time  reading  the  order  as  I  proposed  it.  The  Pres 
ident  and  Secretary  Root,  also  Secretary  Taft,  agreed 
that  it  should  be  issued,  and  this  I  did. 

At  the  same  time  I  discussed  a  provision  of  the  Im 
migration  Act  of  1906  requiring  masters  of  all  vessels 
bringing  in  aliens,  without  exception,  to  fill  out  a  blank 
or  manifest  giving  the  age,  sex,  calling,  nationality,  race, 
of  each  alien,  and  whether  able  to  read  or  write,  and 
whether  anarchist  or  not.  These  blanks  then  had  to  be 
signed  by  the  aliens.  I  prepared  two  circulars,  one  order 
ing  the  discontinuance  of  the  head  tax  and  the  other  dis 
continuing  the  filling  out  of  these  blanks  so  far  as  con 
cerned  diplomatic  or  consular  officials  and  other  persons 
duly  accredited  from  foreign  governments  to  the  United 
States,  in  service  or  in  transit. 

At  dinner  at  the  British  ambassador's  home  some 
weeks  thereafter  Lady  Bryce  mentioned  having  to  sign 
a  blank  asking  whether  she  believed  in  the  practice  of 
polygamy.  Of  course,  she  brought  it  up  in  a  humorous 
way,  but  it  was  apparent  that  she  had  felt  humiliated  at 
such  questioning.  I  told  her  I  fully  appreciated  her  feel 
ings  and  was  happy  to  be  able  to  say  that  that  stupid 
practice  had  been  discontinued. 

The  subject  of  naturalization  had  occupied  my  atten 
tion  for  years  past.  Under  the  law  then  existing,  as  well 
as  under  older  laws,  a  person  could  be  naturalized  not 
only  in  the  United  States  courts,  but  in  any  State  court 
having  a  seal.  And  the  naturalization  laws  prior  to  the 
Act  of  1906  were  most  carelessly  administered.  In  the 
larger  cities  of  many  of  the  States  naturalization  applica 
tions  were  hurried  through  in  bunches  at  the  direction  of 
some  political  boss.  In  that  way  many  persons  were 


232       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

naturalized  who  would  have  been  found,  had  time  been 
taken  to  sift  the  applications,  not  entitled  to  citizenship. 
The  effects  of  so  careless  a  method  I  saw  in  Turkey,  and 
in  my  dispatches  to  the  State  Department  I  repeatedly 
pointed  out  the  evil. 

Largely  growing  out  of  my  presentation  of  the  subject, 
Mr.  Gaillard  Hunt,  chief  of  the  passport  division  of  the 
State  Department,  had  taken  it  up  in  his  thorough 
manner  and  made  a  report  to  President  McKinley,  upon 
which  the  President  appointed  a  commission  to  study  the 
subject.  The  commission  was  renewed  by  President 
Roosevelt.  Its  report,  known  as  House  Document  326, 
59th  Congress,  2d  Session,  and  entitled  "Citizenship  of 
the  United  States,  Expatriation,  and  Protection  Abroad," 
was  the  basis  of  the  Act  of  1906.  This  act  went  far  in 
preventing  fraudulent  naturalization  as  well  as  in  with 
drawing  protection  from  those  who  were  using  United 
States  citizenship  not  with  the  intention  of  becoming  part 
of  the  new  country  in  which  they  had  chosen  to  reside, 
but  as  a  means  to  escape  their  duties  as  subjects  of  the 
country  of  their  origin  upon  returning  there  to  live,  as 
had  happened  so  often  in  Turkey. 

For  the  proper  carrying  out  of  this  law  additional 
examiners  were  needed,  and  also  about  eleven  additional 
assistant  district  attorneys.  I  therefore  arranged  with 
Attorney-General  Bonaparte  to  appear  with  him  before 
the  Appropriations  Committee  of  the  House  to  explain 
the  necessity  of  an  appropriation  to  cover  the  enlarge 
ment  of  the  corps  for  the  enforcement  and  administra 
tion  of  the  new  law.  During  my  experience  abroad  much 
of  the  time  of  our  diplomatic  representatives  was  taken 
up  with  questions  relating  to  the  protection  of  our  citi 
zens,  and  often  this  protection  was  invoked  by  persona 
who  should  never  have  been  naturalized. 


EXCLUSION  OF  CRIMINALS  233 

The  exclusion  and  deportation  of  criminals  and  an 
archists  was  another  phase  of  the  immigration  service  to 
which  I  had  given  considerable  study.  I  found  the  law 
provided  for  arrest  and  deportation  of  criminal  aliens 
only  up  to  three  years  of  the  time  of  their  landing,  and 
that  there  was  gross  misconception  regarding  the  scope 
of  the  law.  There  was  no  cooperation  between  our  im 
migration  officials  and  the  local  police  departments  for 
the  detection  of  such  persons.  The  police  departments  of 
most  of  our  cities  were  disposed  to  assume  that  by  virtue 
of  the  immigration  law  the  whole  subject  was  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Federal  Government;  and  on  the 
other  hand  our  officials  did  not  confer  with  municipal 
officials  to  make  use  of  the  immigration  law.  It  is  one 
thing  to  provide  for  the  exclusion  of  criminals  and  an 
archists,  but  it  is  quite  another  to  discover,  on  entry, 
whether  a  person  belongs  to  either  class.  They  are  usually 
neither  illiterate  nor  lacking  in  cunning  and  deception, 
but  within  three  years  they  may  be  detected,  as  "birds 
of  a  feather  flock  together." 

I  decided  to  issue  a  circular  to  all  commissioners  of 
immigration  and  immigration  inspectors,  with  a  view  to 
bringing  about  cooperation  with  the  local  officials.  I 
took  the  subject  up  in  the  Cabinet  and  the  President 
approved.  It  so  happened  that  while  this  circular  was 
being  prepared,  an  Italian  immigrant,  recently  arrived, 
killed  a  Catholic  priest  in  Denver  while  the  latter  was 
officiating  at  a  mass  in  his  church,  and  a  day  or  two  there 
after  another  recently  arrived  immigrant,  a  Russian, 
attacked  the  chief  of  police  of  Chicago  and  his  family 
with  a  dagger.  Both  of  these  men  would  have  come  under 
the  deportation  provisions  of  the  immigration  law  had 
the  police  been  aware  of  these  provisions,  as  in  both 
instances  they  had  been  suspected,  by  their  affiliations 


234       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

and  their  talk,  of  being  anarchists,  as  that  term  is  defined 
in  the  Immigration  Act  of  February  20,  1907.  Under  the 
local  criminal  laws  this  suspicion  was  not  enough  to 
justify  arrest. 

Appearing  as  it  did  immediately  after  these  two  in 
cidents  my  circular  had  much  publicity  and  brought 
about  the  deportation  of  a  number  of  undesirables  upon 
evidence  supplied  by  the  police  and  detective  officers. 

In  a  Department  which  covered  so  many  and  such 
varied  subjects,  the  conflict  between  human  and  property 
interests  was  often  apparent.  I  recall  a  remark  by  the 
President,  as  we  were  speaking  about  this,  that  whenever 
within  my  jurisdiction  there  occurred  this  conflict  he  was 
sure  I  would  lean  on  the  human  side,  and  I  could  always 
count  on  his  support. 

A  striking  example  of  this  conflict  grew  out  of  an  order 
I  issued  for  the  inspection  of  excursion  and  ferry  boats  at 
least  three  times  a  year  instead  of  once.  The  summer 
before  I  took  office  the  boiler  of  the  General  Slocurn,  a 
large  excursion  boat  on  the  Long  Island  Sound,  blew  up 
and  caused  the  death  of  over  a  hundred  women  and 
children.  As  spring  approached  and  the  excursion  season 
drew  near,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  should  make  all 
possible  provision  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  any  such 
disaster. 

I  accompanied  the  supervising  inspector-general, 
George  Uhler,  to  witness  the  inspection  of  some  pas 
senger  boats  plying  between  Washington  and  Norfolk> 
to  get  personal  knowledge  of  the  details  of  inspection. 
I  carefully  studied  a  report  made  to  me  by  Mr.  Murray, 
the  assistant  secretary  of  my  Department,  who  had  been 
a  member  of  the  board  of  inquiry  into  the  Slocum  disaster 
and  later  the  Valencia  wreck.  I  called  a  meeting  of  the 


STEAMBOAT  INSPECTION  235 

board  of  supervising  inspectors  of  steamboats  and  im 
pressed  upon  them  the  importance  of  great  care  in  inspec 
tion.  I  urged  that  no  man  be  retained  in  the  inspection 
service  who  was  not  thoroughly  competent  and  efficient, 
since  they  had  to  deal  with  the  protection  of  human  life. 
My  order  for  more  frequent  inspection  brought  forth 
many  objections  from  the  steamboat  owners,  and,  as  is 
usual  in  such  cases,  a  committee  came  to  Washington  and 
presented  their  grievances  and  objections  direct  to  the 
President,  in  the  hope  of  inducing  him  to  overrule  my 
instructions.  They  were  patiently  heard,  but  their  main 
objection  was  that  it  would  cost  a  little  more  and  be  a 
little  more  inconvenient  to  have  three  inspections  instead 
of  one,  and  the  President  gave  them  little  more  comfort 
than  to  make  it  quite  clear  that  he  was  thoroughly  in 
accord  with  my  action  for  the  provision  of  greater  safety 
to  human  life.  He  told  them  he  felt  he  was  fortunate  in 
having  at  the  head  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  a  man  who  was  a  humanitarian  besides  having 
large  business  experience,  for  while  it  was  his  purpose  to 
harmonize  human  and  business  interests,  always  when 
they  conflicted  he  would  lean  toward  the  human  side, 
as  I  had  done  in  issuing  that  order. 

The  President  was  deeply  interested  always  in  the 
natural  resources  of  the  country  and  their  preservation, 
and  asked  me  to  take  up  the  question  of  the  Alaska 
salmon  fisheries.  It  was  certain  that  unless  some  drastic 
action  was  taken,  the  salmon  would  be  destroyed  in  the 
Alaskan  waters  just  as  they  had  been  in  the  Columbia 
River.  Roosevelt  was  familiar  with  the  problem  and 
believed  that  Wood  River  ought  to  be  closed.  I  devoted 
parts  of  two  days  to  a  hearing  on  the  subject.  The  can 
nery  interests  were  represented  by  their  counsel  and  the 


236       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Fishermen's  Union  by  several  of  its  officers.  Senator 
Fulton,  of  Oregon,  as  well  as  the  two  Alaskan  delegates 
in  Congress,  pleaded  for  the  closing  of  the  rivers. 

After  hearing  all  sides  and  studying  the  question  I 
signed  an  order  directing  the  closing  of  both  the  Wood 
and  Nushagak  Rivers  to  trap  and  net  fishing,  and  if  the 
law  had  permitted,  I  should  have  directed  the  closing 
also  of  Nushagak  Bay,  where  extensive  trap  fishing  was 
carried  on. 

When  I  was  president  of  the  New  York  Board  of  Trade 
and  Transportation  I  was  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  establishing  a  closer  relationship  between  the  com 
mercial  bodies  of  the  country  and  the  Government. 
Shortly  after  I  became  Secretary  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  therefore,  I  sought  to  accomplish  that  end.  I  had 
a  study  made  by  Nahum  I.  Stone,  tariff  expert  of  the 
Bureau  of  Manufactures,  of  the  relations  between  the 
European  governments  and  their  commercial  bodies, 
especially  in  such  countries  as  Great  Britain,  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  and  Belgium.  I  sent  invitations  to 
about  forty  of  the  leading  chambers  of  commerce,  boards 
of  trade,  and  other  commercial  organizations  throughout 
the  country  to  send  delegates  to  Washington  for  a  two 
days'  conference,  with  a  view  to  bringing  about  an  organ 
ization  of  these  bodies  for  the  purpose  of  cooperation 
between  them  and  the  departments  of  the  Government 
having  to  do  with  commerce  and  manufactures. 

Accordingly  on  December  5th  a  representative  gather 
ing  of  over  one  hundred  delegates  met  in  my  Depart 
ment,  and  I  put  before  them  a  plan  for  organization. 
I  invited  Secretary  Root,  who  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
scheme,  and  he  made  a  thoughtful  address,  in  which  he 
impressed  upon  the  gathering  the  things  that  ought  to  be 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  COMMERCE          237 

done,  and  could  be  done  only  through  organization  and 
the  power  of  concerted  effort.  Andrew  D.  White,  our 
experienced  ambassador  at  Berlin,  had  sent  to  the  Presi 
dent  a  letter  containing  the  proposal  that  a  method  of 
instruction  in  commerce  be  applied  at  the  instance  of  our 
Government  as  had  been  done  in  agriculture;  this  inter 
esting  proposal  I  read  to  the  meeting. 

I  then  went  with  the  delegates  in  a  body  to  the  White 
House  where  the  President  addressed  them.  In  the  after 
noon  Gustav  H.  Schwab,  of  the  New  York  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  was  elected  temporary  chairman  and  the 
organization  of  the  council  proceeded.  A  committee  on 
organization  and  a  committee  on  rules  were  appointed, 
and  it  was  decided  that  an  advisory  committee  of  fifteen 
members  was  to  have  headquarters  in  Washington.  The 
number  of  meetings  to  be  held  per  year  was  fixed,  as  well 
as  the  annual  dues.  On  December  5,  1907,  the  National 
Council  of  Commerce  came  into  being. 

A  year  later  the  first  annual  meeting  was  held  in  my 
Department.  The  Council  now  had  permanent  offices  in 
the  Adams  Building,  with  William  R.  Corwine  in  charge. 
In  my  address  to  the  delegates  I  stressed  the  importance 
of  the  development  of  our  commercial  relations  with  the 
South  American  republics,  particularly  in  view  of  the 
rapidly  approaching  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal. 
At  that  time  we  had  only  twenty-three  per  cent  of  the 
foreign  trade  of  South  America,  and  one  of  the  main 
requirements  for  increasing  our  share  was  the  establish 
ment  of  better  shipping  and  postal  facilities.  To  that  end 
I  recommended  in  my  annual  report  that  the  Postal 
Subsidy  Act  of  1891  be  extended  to  include  ships  of  six 
teen  knots  and  over,  and  my  colleagues,  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  Attorney-General,  made  similar  recom 
mendations. 


238       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

A  month  after  the  change  of  Administration  the  ex 
ecutive  committee  of  the  Council  held  a  meeting,  again 
in  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  at  which 
they  passed  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  by  the  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  National  Council  of  Commerce  in  meeting  assembled  in  the 
office  of  the  Hon.  Charles  Nagel,  the  present  Secretary  of 
Commerce  and  Labor,  That  they  tender  their  heartiest  thanks 
to  the  Hon.  Oscar  S.  Straus,  the  former  Secretary  of  Commerce 
and  Labor,  for  his  constant  and  well-directed  efforts  in  form 
ing  and  promoting  the  National  Council  of  Commerce,  express 
ing  their  appreciation  of  his  far-sightedness,  his  patriotism,  his 
energy,  his  fairness,  and  his  friendship,  assuring  him  of  the  high 
personal  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  all  of  them,  and  asserting 
that  in  their  judgment  he  has  laid  the  foundation  for  a  move 
ment  which  will  redound  not  only  to  his  credit  as  a  Cabinet 
officer,  but  one  which  will  ultimately  be  productive  of  incal 
culable  benefit  to  the  business  interests  of  our  country,  the 
development  of  which  he  has  so  deeply  at  heart. 

Later  that  year  the  Council  was  reorganized  and  called 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States,  which 
to-day  is  an  important  institution  in  the  commercial  life 
of  our  country. 

To  bring  about  a  similar  relationship  between  the 
Department  and  the  labor  bodies,  I  called  another  con 
ference  in  February,  1909,  to  which  I  invited  the  lead 
ing  labor  representatives  throughout  the  country,  and 
about  fifty  attended.  Unfortunately  my  term  of  office 
was  drawing  to  an  end  and  there  was  not  time  to  or 
ganize  this  wing,  but  I  urged  the  men  to  insist  upon 
the  continuance  of  the  conferences  and  the  cooperation 
with  the  Department  thus  established. 

The  matters  discussed  at  this  meeting  were  mainly 
how  best  to  lessen  unemployment,  how  the  Division  of 


ROOSEVELT'S  NOBEL  PRIZE  239 

Information  under  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  might  be 
administered  for  the  greater  benefit  of  labor  in  general, 
and  how  the  Nobel  Peace  Prize,  which  President  Roose 
velt  had  set  aside  for  a  foundation  for  the  promotion  of 
industrial  peace,  could  be  made  most  effective.  There 
were  addresses  by  Samuel  Gompers,  president  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor;  Warren  S.  Stone,  grand 
chief  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers;  Wil 
liam  F.  Yates,  president  of  the  Marine  Engineers'  Bene 
ficial  Association;  and  Terence  V.  Powderly,  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Information  in  the  Bureau  of  Immigration. 
The  presiding  officer  was  Daniel  J.  Keefe,  Commissioner- 
General  of  Immigration  and  Naturalization. 

During  my  term  of  office  repeated  efforts  were  made  in 
Congress,  backed  by  organized  labor,  to  divide  my 
Department  and  make  two  of  it  —  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  the  Department  of  Labor.  I  successfully 
opposed  this  plan,  my  idea  being  that  labor  and  capital 
were  the  two  arms  of  industry,  the  proper  functioning  of 
which  could  best  be  secured  by  cooperation,  which  in 
turn  could  best  be  promoted  by  administering  their 
interests  together.  In  this  I  had  the  support  of  President 
Roosevelt.  During  the  Taft  Administration,  however,  the 
bill  was  passed  creating  the  Department  of  Labor. 

I  have  mentioned  Roosevelt's  Nobel  Peace  Prize.  As 
received  by  the  President,  it  consisted  of  a  medal  and 
diploma,  and  a  draft  for  $36,734.79.  He  decided  not  to 
keep  the  money,  but  to  turn  it  over  in  trust  for  a  founda 
tion  for  the  promotion  of  industrial  peace.  In  January, 
1907,  he  called  me  to  the  White  House  and  told  me  that 
he  would  forward  the  draft  and  the  papers  to  Chief 
Justice  Fuller,  with  the  request  that  he  communicate  with 
the  other  trustees,  of  whom  there  were  four:  James 


240       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Wilson,  Secretary  of  Agriculture;  John  Mitchell,  presi 
dent  of  the  Anthracite  Coal  Operators;  ex-Mayor  Seth 
Low,  of  New  York,  and  myself. 

Later  the  Chief  Justice  came  to  my  Department  with 
the  papers  to  go  over  them  with  me  and  to  arrange  for 
their  safe-keeping  until  we  could  have  a  meeting  and 
formulate  a  plan  of  action.  Subsequently  he  informed  me 
that  before  preparing  the  draft  of  the  act  granting  the 
foundation  it  was  necessary  to  write  a  preamble  setting 
forth  its  objects  and  purposes,  and  this  he  found  it  diffi 
cult  to  do.  I  relieved  his  mind  by  offering  to  prepare  the 
bill  with  the  preamble.  I  consulted  with  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler, 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  who  had  had  considerable 
experience  in  drafting  documents  for  the  creation  of 
trusts  of  this  nature.  With  his  assistance  I  prepared  the 
draft  of  the  preamble  and  the  bill,  which  the  Chief  Justice 
approved.  I  then  took  them  to  the  President,  who  also 
approved  them  and  requested  me  to  call  a  meeting  of  the 
trustees,  of  whom  there  were  to  be  nine  instead  of  five  as 
originally. 

At  the  meeting  of  January  27,  1907,  a  few  slight 
changes  were  made  and  adopted  in  the  bill.  Thus  re 
drafted,  with  a  report  attached  giving  a  history  of  the 
award,  it  was  introduced  in  the  House  by  Congressman 
Richard  Bartholdt,  of  Missouri,  member  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Labor;  and  in  the  Senate  by  John  W.  Daniel, 
of  Virginia.  It  was  promptly  passed.  The  board  of 
trustees  as  finally  constituted  included:  Archbishop 
Ireland,  Samuel  Gompers,  Daniel  J.  Keefe,  Seth  Low, 
Marcus  M.  Marks,  Dr.  Neill,  Warren  S.  Stone,  James 
Wilson,  and  myself. 

The  foundation  was  in  existence  for  about  ten  years, 
and  in  that  time  the  interest  on  the  money  merely  ac 
cumulated,  because  the  trustees  were  unable  to  find  a 


A  VISIT  TO  GEORGIA  241 

proper  means  for  employing  it.  In  July,  1917,  Mr.  Roose 
velt  requested  Congress  to  repeal  the  bill  and  return  the 
money  to  him,  that  he  might  distribute  it  among  the 
different  charitable  societies  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Europe  which  were  affording  relief  to  the  sufferers  from 
the  war.  The  request  was  granted,  and  the  sum  with  its 
accrued  interest,  amounting  to  $45,482.83,  was  thus 
distributed  by  him. 

Roosevelt  always  encouraged  the  members  of  his 
Cabinet  to  make  speeches  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
on  subjects  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  the  public,  with  due 
regard,  of  course,  to  the  duties  of  office.  I  accepted  a 
number  of  the  many  such  invitations  that  came  to  me. 
At  the  banquet  of  the  National  Association  of  Manu 
facturers,  held  in  the  Waldorf  Hotel,  New  York,  in  May, 
1907,  I  was  asked  to  be  the  principal  speaker.  I  made 
careful  preparation  of  an  address,  part  of  which  I  devoted 
to  advocating  a  moderate  tariff  reform,  with  a  view  to 
providing  a  maximum  and  minimum  tariff  to  meet  dis 
crimination  against  us  by  some  European  nations.  I 
consulted  with  the  President  about  it.  While  he  agreed 
with  my  premises,  he  thought  the  time  not  ripe  to  project 
that  issue,  so  I  redrafted  my  speech  and  devoted  it  to 
such  topics  as  the  development  of  our  manufactures,  the 
work  of  the  Bureau  of  Corporations,  and  the  relations  of 
employers  and  workers. 

On  April  3,  1908,  the  Savannah  Board  of  Trade  cele 
brated  its  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  and  I  was  asked  to 
be  one  of  the  speakers.  Two  others  were  Governor  Hoke 
Smith  and  Representative  J.  Hampton  Moore,  president 
of  the  Atlantic  Deep  Waterways  Commission.  It  was 
a  special  occasion  and  was  widely  advertised  for  sev 
eral  weeks.  I  prepared  an  address  in  which  I  outlined 
also  some  of  the  activities  carried  on  by  my  Depart- 


UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ment  for  the  benefit  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
country.  On  this  trip  my  wife  and  younger  daughter 
accompanied  me.  During  our  stay  at  Savannah  we  were 
the  guests  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  who  showed  us  every 
possible  attention,  in  true  Southern  fashion,  and  we 
thoroughly  enjoyed  our  stay. 

The  Mayor  and  prominent  citizens  of  my  former  home, 
Columbus,  upon  learning  of  our  presence  in  the  South, 
sent  us  a  pressing  invitation  to  visit  that  city.  A  com 
mittee  met  us  at  the  station,  and  in  the  evening  a  dinner 
was  given  at  the  Opera  House,  at  which  about  a  hundred 
of  the  leading  citizens  were  present.  The  dinner  was 
served  on  the  stage,  and  while  the  toasts  were  being 
responded  to,  the  curtain  was  raised,  disclosing  an  audi 
torium  crowded  with  people.  I  was  quite  touched  by 
this  fine  attention  by  the  citizens  of  my  former  home,  who 
took  great  pride  in  the  fact  that  one  of  their  former 
townsmen  was  a  member  of  the  Cabinet.  In  the  audience 
were  several  of  my  schoolboy  friends  and  those  of  my 
brothers,  and  I  found  several  friends  and  companions  of 
my  parents  still  among  the  living. 

In  the  South  at  that  time  it  was  still  rare  for  a  person 
to  change  his  politics,  and  one  of  the  questions  that  was 
put  to  me  was  why  had  I,  a  member  of  a  Democratic 
family,  once  a  Democrat  myself,  and  even  having  held 
office  under  a  Democratic  President,  changed  over  to  the 
Republican  side.  In  other  words,  why  had  I  been  on  both 
sides  of  the  political  fence,  though  they  were  too  polite  to 
ask  the  question  in  that  direct  form.  I  told  them  that 
perhaps  no  one  had  a  better  right  than  they  to  ask  the 
reason  for  my  political  affiliations.  It  was  true,  I  said, 
that  I  had  been,  as  it  were,  on  both  sides  of  the  fence,  but 
that  was  not  my  fault;  the  fence  had  been  moved.  This 
produced  great  merriment  and  applause. 


MY  OLD  HOME  AT  TALBOTTON        243 

Talbotton,  the  first  American  home  of  my  family,  also 
extended  an  invitation  to  us,  which  I  accepted  with 
pleasure.  A  dinner  and  reception  were  given  in  my  honor 
at  the  public  hall  known  as  the  Opera  House,  at  which 
the  Mayor  of  the  town  made  an  address,  as  well  as  several 
other  prominent  citizens.  While  in  Talbotton  we  were 
the  guests  of  the  Honorable  Henry  Persons,  former 
member  of  Congress  and  an  old  friend  of  our  family.  He 
gave  me  my  first  rubber  ball,  when  I  was  six  years  old. 
I  visited  all  the  scenes  of  my  boyhood;  it  was  forty-five 
years  since  I  had  lived  there.  The  population  of  the  town 
was  about  the  same,  equally  divided  between  the  whites 
and  the  blacks.  The  little  Baptist  church  where  I  went 
to  Sunday  school  was  much  smaller  than  it  had  loomed 
up  in  my  imagination.  Collins  worth  Institute  was  aban 
doned,  and  only  the  recitation  hall  was  left  standing.  The 
several  houses  wherein  my  family  had  lived  brought  back 
vivid  memories  of  the  toils  and  pleasures  of  my  parents. 
The  little  frame  cottage  with  the  green  blinds  especially 
impressed  upon  me  how  little  is  required  for  happiness 
where  there  is  the  love  and  contentment  which  always 
blessed  our  family.  All  who  remembered  my  father  and 
mother  spoke  of  them  in  the  highest  terms.  I  met  a 
number  of  my  boyhood  friends,  grown  gray  and  old.  On 
the  whole  the  little  town  had  not  changed  much,  though 
it  had  fewer  signs  of  prosperity.  Before  the  Civil  War 
it  was  the  center  of  a  rich  slave-holding  county.  The 
people,  however,  seemed  contented  and  happy. 

From  Talbotton  we  went  to  Atlanta,  and  then  made 
one  or  two  more  stops  on  the  way  home.  At  each  place  we 
met  friends  of  former  years  and  were  given  a  thoroughly 
royal  welcome.  In  fact,  the  reception  given  us  through 
out  the  whole  tour  was  in  the  nature  of  an  ovation. 
Wherever  we  stopped  our  rooms  were  decorated  with  an 


244       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

abundance  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers.  The  South 
erners  have  ever  been  known  for  their  hospitality,  and  in 
this  respect  the  New  South  has  lost  nothing. 

Later  in  the  year  the  Southern  Commercial  Congress, 
representing  ten  States,  assembled  in  Washington,  and  I 
was  asked  to  preside  at  the  opening  session  in  the  large 
ballroom  of  the  New  Willard  Hotel.  There  were  three  or 
four  hundred  people  present.  I  devoted  my  address  to  a 
comparison  between  the  old  agricultural  South  and  the 
new  industrial  South,  pointing  out  that  as  the  economic 
interests  of  the  South  were  no  longer  sectional  but  na 
tional,  it  must  follow  that  politically  there  is  no  longer  a 
reason  for  "the  solid  South." 

On  leaving  the  Cabinet  one  day  at  about  this  time  the 
President's  youngest  son,  Quentin,  came  up  to  me.  I  had 
a  great  affection  for  this  bright,  attractive  boy.  He  was 
eleven  years  old,  and  he  informed  me  he  weighed  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  pounds.  He  was  full  of  animal 
spirits,  frank,  charming.  "You  gave  my  brother  Kermit 
some  coins,"  he  said  to  me. 

"Yes;  are  you  interested  in  them?"  I  asked. 

"I  am  making  a  little  collection,"  was  his  answer. 

I  invited  him  into  my  carriage  and  to  come  to  lunch 
with  me.  He  accepted  readily,  and  I  reminded  him  that 
he  had  better  let  his  mother  know.  He  did  so  by  hur 
riedly  running  into  the  White  House  and  returning  in 
a  very  few  minutes  saying  his  mother  said  he  might  go. 
He  behaved  like  a  perfect  little  gentleman  and  showed 
that  under  his  sparkling  vivacity  there  was  serious,  intel 
ligent  hunger  for  knowledge.  After  lunch  I  took  him  into 
my  library  and  showed  him  my  collection  of  Greek  and 
Roman  coins.  I  told  him  he  might  pick  out  what  he 
liked.  To  the  several  he  chose  I  added  a  gold  stater  of 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  WASHINGTON          245 

Philip.  He  was  overjoyed.  From  that  time  onward  we 
became  still  greater  friends,  and  he  came  to  see  me  when 
ever  he  got  a  new  coin  for  his  collection. 

In  1909,  when  I  was  going  through  Paris,  I  met  him 
there  with  his  mother.  During  this  visit  he  and  I  were 
quite  steadily  together.  We  visited  the  museums  and 
other  places  of  interest.  I  found  him  a  most  sympathetic 
and  delightful  companion,  notwithstanding  the  immense 
difference  in  our  ages.  What  a  record  of  glory  and  patri 
otism  this  lovable  boy  has  left  to  his  country!  And  with 
what  fortitude  his  parents  bore  their  most  painful  loss! 
Their  example  strengthened  the  anguished  hearts  of 
many  patriotic  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  land  who  suf 
fered  like  affliction. 

On  Christmas  Day  Mrs.  Straus  and  I  received  an 
invitation  by  telephone  to  come  to  the  White  House 
between  three  and  four  o'clock  to  see  the  Christmas  tree. 
Some  thirty  or  forty  guests  were  there,  mainly  friends  of 
the  family.  In  one  of  the  side  rooms  in  the  basement  of  the 
house  was  assembled  a  large  company  of  children.  The 
room  was  darkened,  that  the  lighted  tree  might  stand 
out.  There  were  presents  for  all  the  children,  and  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  played  Lady  Bountiful  to  see  that  each  child 
got  its  gift.  Upstairs  in  the  Red  Room  the  gentlemen  sat 
smoking.  It  was  a  genuinely  joyful  and  memorable  day. 

The  social  season  hi  Washington  is  usually  begun  with 
the  President's  New  Year's  reception,  which  lasts  from 
eleven  o'clock  until  half-past  two  on  New  Year's  Day. 
At  a  few  minutes  before  eleven  o'clock  the  officials  and 
their  wives  assembled  upstairs,  and  promptly  at  eleven 
the  President  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt  led  the  march  to  the 
Blue  Room.  The  procession  advanced  toward  the  main 
stairway,  where  the  line  divided,  the  ladies  going  to  the 


246       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

left  and  the  gentlemen  to  the  right,  reuniting  at  the  first 
landing;  then  through  the  main  hall  where  the  passageway 
was  roped  off  through  a  crowd  of  specially  invited  guests. 

The  order  following  the  President  was:  the  Cabinet 
officers;  the  doyen  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  the  Italian 
ambassador  and  his  staff;  the  ambassadors  and  ministers 
of  the  other  nations,  according  to  rank.  After  them, 
grouped  in  more  or  less  regular  order,  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  headed  by  the  Chief  Justice;  Senators; 
Representatives;  Army  and  Navy  officials;  the  officers 
of  the  Government. 

On  New  Year's  Day  every  one  is  accorded  the  right  to 
pay  his  or  her  respects  to  the  President.  The  officials 
come  straight  to  the  White  House  and  the  uninvited 
guests  form  a  line  on  the  grounds.  On  the  particular  day 
of  which  I  speak  the  line  stretched  through  the  grounds, 
along  Pennsylvania  Avenue  and  down  by  the  State  De 
partment  Building,  probably  more  than  half  a  mile  long, 
and  the  President  received  about  sixty-five  hundred 
people  in  all.  At  two  o'clock  the  iron  gates  of  the  White 
House  grounds  were  closed,  and  those  who  had  not 
reached  that  point  by  that  time  were  barred  out.  The 
reception  had  to  end  promptly,  as  the  Cabinet  ladies  who 
assisted  had  to  be  present  at  the  receptions  at  their  own 
homes  from  half-past  two  until  six,  in  accordance  with  a 
custom  that  has  been  in  vogue  probably  since  the  days  of 
Washington.  Our  buffet  in  the  dining-room  was  kept 
well  replenished,  and  there  were  champagne  and  punch 
served.  We  had  in  all  about  four  hundred  guests. 

The  official  functions  at  the  White  House  during  the 
Roosevelt  Administration  were  agreeable  and  in  stately 
form.  They  were  usually  followed  by  an  informal  supper 
to  which  were  invited  personal  friends  and  visitors. 

Our  series  of  official  dinners  began  with  the  one  to  the 


MRS.  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 


NEW  YEAR'S  RECEPTION  247 

Vice-President  and  Mrs.  Fairbanks  and  ended  with  the 
dinner  to  the  President  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt.  In  addition 
we  followed  the  pleasant  custom  of  the  President  and  had 
guests  to  informal  luncheons  three  or  four  times  a  week. 
These  luncheons  we  gave  in  the  sun  parlor  back  of  our 
dining-room,  which  was  one  of  the  attractive  features  of 
our  Venetian  palace. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  give  the  last  Cabinet  dinner  to 
the  President,  on  March  2d,  two  days  before  the  close  of 
the  Administration.  The  event  had  been  postponed  for  a 
week  on  account  of  the  death  of  the  President's  nephew, 
Stewart  Robinson,  whose  mother  was  the  President's 
sister.  Governor  and  Mrs.  Hughes,  who  were  among  our 
invited  guests,  stayed  over  when  it  was  found  that  the 
dinner  had  to  be  postponed.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  later  in 
formed  me  that  she  planned  that  our  dinner  be  the  last, 
knowing  that  I  had  some  sentiment  about  it  which  she 
and  the  President  shared. 

I  have  made  several  references  to  the  wonderfully 
human  touch  characteristic  of  Roosevelt.  On  February 
5th,  the  day  beginning  the  last  month  of  his  Administra 
tion,  a  messenger  from  the  White  House  brought  me  a 
package  containing  a  large  folio,  a  handsomely  illustrated 
memorial  volume  describing  the  Castle  of  Wartburg  in 
Saxony,  in  which  Luther  was  confined  and  where  he 
worked  on  his  translation  of  the  Bible.  The  book  had  been 
prepared  by  official  direction,  and  Roosevelt  had  received 
two  copies  of  the  royal  edition,  one  from  the  Kaiser  per 
sonally  and  one  from  the  Chancellor,  which  latter  he  sent 
to  me  with  this  inscription: 

"To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oscar  S.  Straus,  in  memory  of  our 
days  together  in  the  Administration;  days  which  I  have 
so  much  enjoyed  and  appreciated.  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
February  5,  1909." 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  TAFT  CAMPAIGN  OF  1908 

Roosevelt  favors  Taft  to  succeed  him  —  I  visit  Taft  at  Cincinnati  —  Roosevelt 
plans  for  his  African  trip  —  I  take  part  in  the  Taft  campaign  —  Roosevelt's 
method  of  preparedness  —  Election  evening  at  the  White  House  —  Roosevelt 
rebukes  a  bigot;  his  letter  on  religious  liberty  —  Taft  tells  Roosevelt  he  will 
retain  Wright,  Garfield,  and  me  in  his  Cabinet  —  Roosevelt's  speech  at  the 
dinner  to  Vice-President-elect  Sherman  —  Looking  toward  the  end  of  my  term; 
the  last  Cabinet  meeting  —  Closing  the  administration  of  Roosevelt  and  usher 
ing  in  that  of  Taft. 

EARLY  in  September,  1907,  in  a  conversation  with  Roose 
velt  at  Oyster  Bay,  we  touched  on  matters  political  and 
the  forthcoming  national  convention  of  the  Republican 
Party  for  the  nomination  of  a  President.  Roosevelt  had 
again  publicly  made  the  statement  he  gave  out  at  the 
time  of  his  election,  that  he  would  not  accept  a  renomi- 
nation,  and  had  made  known  his  desire  that  the  party 
nominate  Taft. 

I  had  just  returned  from  Hawaii,  and  told  him  that 
throughout  my  trip  to  and  from  the  Pacific  Coast  I  ob 
served  an  almost  universal  determination  to  force  the 
nomination  upon  him.  I  had  met  many  people  and  ad 
dressed  several  merchants'  organizations  and  other 
bodies,  and  again  and  again  the  sentiment  of  prominent 
Republicans  was:  "We  know  Roosevelt  is  sincere  in  his 
statement  that  he  would  decline  the  nomination,  but 
what  can  he  do  if  he  is  renominated?  He  is  a  patriotic 
man,  and  how  can  he  refuse  to  obey  the  unanimous  wish 
of  his  party  and  the  people  at  large?"  The  President 
knew  of  this  strong  sentiment  for  him,  and  that  was  one 
of  the  main  reasons  why  he  made  the  public  and  definite 
statement  that  he  favored  the  nomination  of  Taft,  whom 


ROOSEVELT  FAVORS  TAFT  249 

he  regarded  as  best  qualified  to  carry  forward  the  measures 
and  policies  of  his  Administration. 

Some  of  Roosevelt's  closest  friends  counseled  him  not 
in  any  way  to  interfere  with  the  selection  of  his  successor. 
He  practically  agreed  to  that,  but  in  order  to  escape  the 
nomination  himself  he  felt  compelled  to  throw  his  influ 
ence  toward  Taft.  I  think  it  was  Secretary  Root  at  the 
time  who  remarked  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
Roosevelt  to  let  the  tail  of  the  tiger  go  without  some  such 
plan.  Notwithstanding  his  positive  statements  that  he 
would  not  accept  a  renomination  at  the  end  of  his  term, 
and  his  constant  reiteration  of  this  determination,  the 
pressure  throughout  the  country  was  overwhelming. 

The  people  naturally  resent  the  selection  of  a  candidate 
for  them  by  the  President  in  office,  and  in  the  past  have 
shown  their  resentment  by  the  defeat  of  such  candidates. 
But  the  conditions  surrounding  the  Taft  campaign  were 
somewhat  different.  Roosevelt  was  committed  heart  and 
soul  to  the  moral  principles  for  which  his  Administration 
had  stood  in  face  of  the  mighty  opposition  of  the  "inter 
ests."  How  the  force  and  might  of  this  opposition  had 
grown  until  Roosevelt  took  up  the  "big  stick"  can  per 
haps  hardly  be  measured  except  by  those  who  were  with 
him  in  the  bitter  fight.  No  one  was  more  conversant  with 
the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Administration  than 
Taft,  and,  all  things  considered,  perhaps  none  better 
qualified  than  he  to  carry  them  forward  in  a  firm  and 
constructive  way. 

The  logic  of  the  situation  was,  of  course,  that  Roosevelt 
stand  again  for  the  Presidency,  especially  as  that  would 
not  in  reality  have  been  a  third  term.  But  he  would  not 
under  any  circumstances  recede  from  the  decision  an 
nounced  on  the  night  of  his  election.  It  required  great 
firmness  not  to  be  swept  off  his  feet  by  the  tremendous 


250       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

pressure  to  induce  him  to  consent  to  be  renominated. 
In  the  face  of  these  facts  the  people  were  less  inclined 
to  resent  his  indicating  his  preference  for  the  successor 
whom  he  regarded  as  best  qualified  to  carry  forward  the 
policies  he  had  inaugurated  by  such  reforms  as  the  rebate 
law  against  railroads,  the  anti-trust  laws,  and  child  labor 
legislation,  and  other  progressive  measures. 

At  the  Cabinet  meeting  just  before  the  summer  vaca 
tion  Taft  came  in  radiantly  happy.  He  had  been  nom 
inated  the  day  before;  it  had  been  understood  for  some 
time  that  he  would  be  nominated  on  the  first  ballot. 
Reflecting  at  the  time  upon  the  qualifications  of  Mr. 
Taft  as  a  successor  to  Roosevelt,  I  put  down  among  my 
random  notes  that  I  thought  he  possessed  the  very  quali 
fications  for  constructively  carrying  forward  the  prin 
ciples  Roosevelt  had  stood  for,  and  which  only  Roose 
velt  could  have  so  courageously  vitalized.  Taft  always 
appeared  to  be  jovial  and  kept,  at  least  outwardly,  a 
genially  good-natured  equilibrium.  He  possessed  to  a 
marked  degree  a  fund  of  spontaneous  laughter  —  a  val 
uable  asset  in  the  armor  of  a  public  man.  The  power  to 
create  a  good  laugh  has  at  times  not  only  the  elements 
of  argument,  but  of  avoiding  argument;  with  it  a  man 
can  either  accede  to  a  proposition  or  avoid  acceding;  it 
can  be  committal  or  non-committal;  it  conceals  as  well 
as  expresses  feelings,  and  acts  as  a  wonderful  charm  in 
avoiding  sharp  and  rugged  corners,  in  postponing  issues 
and  getting  time  for  reflection.  In  the  practice  of  the  law 
I  was  once  associated  with  a  very  able  man  who  had  the 
ability  to  laugh  his  opponent  out  of  court.  And  his  was 
a  jeering  laugh  where  Taft's  laugh  was  contagious  and 
good-natured.  Not  that  he  lacked  the  ability  at  times  to 
be  fearless  and  outspoken;  he  had  shown  himself  to  be 
that  in  a  number  of  speeches  prior  to  his  nomination. 


A  VISIT  TO  TAFT  251 

Withal  I  could  not  help  feeling  sad  that  Roosevelt's 
plan  had  so  well  succeeded,  and  in  an  intimate  chat  with 
the  President  after  the  Cabinet  meeting  I  told  him  so.  He 
would  not  have  been  human  if,  amid  the  satisfaction  he 
felt  in  having  his  choice  for  the  Presidency  respected, 
there  was  not  some  feeling  of  regret  in  stepping  down 
from  the  greatest  office  in  the  world,  which  he  had  ad 
ministered  with  so  much  satisfaction  and  success,  and  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  which  he  had  enjoyed  more 
than  perhaps  any  one  of  his  predecessors.  To  use  his  own 
words  as  I  so  frequently  heard  them:  "I  have  had  a  bully 
time  and  enjoyed  every  hour  of  my  Presidency."  An 
other  four  years  in  office  would  doubtless  have  prolonged 
that  enjoyment. 

Early  in  September  I  went  to  Cincinnati  to  meet  Taft 
at  his  headquarters  in  the  Hotel  Sinton,  and  Terence  V. 
Powderly,  head  of  the  Information  Division  of  the 
Bureau  of  Immigration,  formerly  president  of  the  Knights 
of  Labor,  accompanied  me.  I  brought  to  Taft's  attention 
some  correspondence  that  had  been  conducted  by  Louis 
Marshall,  of  New  York,  with  Charles  P.  Taft,  his  brother, 
and  with  the  candidate  for  Vice-President  on  his  ticket, 
Sherman,  regarding  some  narrow  and  prejudiced  editorials 
on  Russian  immigration  appearing  in  the  Cincinnati 
"Times-Star,"  owned  by  Charles  P.  Taft.  I  pointed  out 
that  not  only  were  these  editorials  untrue  and  unjust,  but 
they  did  not  reflect  his  policy  and  yet  were  so  interpreted. 
Secretary  Taft  then  asked  the  editor  of  the  paper,  Mr. 
Joseph  Garretson,  and  his  nephew,  Hulbert  Taft,  to  call 
on  me.  With  them  I  went  over  the  whole  subject,  and 
upon  my  return  to  Washington  young  Mr.  Taft  sent  me  a 
double-column  article  from  the  front  page  of  the  "Times- 
Star,"  together  with  a  double-column  editorial,  force- 


252       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

fully  and  clearly  written,  embracing  the  whole  matter  as 
we  had  covered  it  during  my  visit  to  Cincinnati. 

Samuel  Gompers  had  come  out  strongly  in  favor  of 
Bryan,  and  no  one  could  tell  what  effect  that  might  have 
on  the  great  labor  element  of  the  country.  Mr.  Powderly, 
who  was  very  broad-minded  and  independent  in  his 
politics,  said  it  would  have  little  if  any  effect  on  the  labor 
vote,  as  it  is  not  a  group  vote,  and  no  leader,  however 
powerful,  can  make  it  so.  This  statement  later  proved 
to  be  entirely  correct.  The  Democrats  among  the  labor 
men  went  their  way,  and  the  Republicans  went  theirs. 

The  Cabinet  met  again  after  the  summer  vacation  on 
September  25th.  The  President  wanted  to  talk  with  me 
afterward  about  several  matters,  so  I  waited  and  sat  with 
him  while  he  was  being  shaved.  He  spoke  about  the 
arrangements  he  had  made  for  his  African  trip,  and  said 
several  taxidermists  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  were 
to  accompany  him.  I  told  him  that  Dr.  Adler  of  the 
Institution  had  spoken  to  me  of  the  matter,  and  my 
particular  concern  was  that  one  of  the  men  in  his  party 
on  this  African  expedition  should  be  a  physician.  He 
assented,  saying  that  after  all  he  was  fifty  years  old  and 
ought  to  be  more  careful  about  his  health  than  when  he 
was  younger.  He  seemed  to  know  that  I  had  had  some 
thing  to  do  with  enabling  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to 
supply  these  men,  but  I  did  not  let  it  appear  that  I  knew 
much  about  it.  When  his  book  "African  Game  Trails" 
appeared  he  sent  me  a  copy  with  the  inscription: 

To  Oscar  Straus 
from  his  friend 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

Nov.  I*  1910. 

In  the  Appendix  he  makes  acknowledgment  to  several 


IN  THE  TAFT  CAMPAIGN  253 

of  his  friends  including  myself,  "to  all  of  whom  lovers 
of  natural  history  are  therefore  deeply  indebted." 

He  mentioned  that  he  had  had  an  invitation  to  give  a 
lecture  at  Oxford  University  upon  his  return,  which  he 
felt  like  accepting  because  it  was  a  course  in  which  some 
of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  past,  including  Glad 
stone,  had  lectured,  and  it  appealed  to  him  to  speak  at 
this  ancient  university.  I  encouraged  him  to  do  so.  He 
said  he  did  not  intend,  however,  to  accept  invitations  to 
other  European  countries,  because  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
feted.  This  lecture  would  be  more  in  line  with  his  work. 

At  the  request  of  Roosevelt  and  the  urgent  solicitation 
of  Taft,  I  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign,  making 
scores  of  speeches  in  the  leading  cities  of  the  East  and 
Middle  West.  I  made  the  first  on  September  26th,  the 
day  after  the  first  Cabinet  meeting  of  the  season,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Interstate  Republican  League,  in 
Washington.  It  was  one  of  the  largest  political  meetings 
ever  held  there.  I  addressed  myself  to  a  recent  speech  by 
ex-Secretary  of  State  Olney,  in  which  he  had  endorsed 
Bryan.  I  pointed  out  how  much  more  had  been  done 
under  the  Roosevelt  Administration  than  by  the  Demo 
cratic  Administration  with  which  Mr.  Olney  was  con 
nected,  in  bringing  suits  against  the  trusts  under  the 
Sherman  law;  that  in  Mr.  Olney 's  time  nearly  all  such 
suits  were  brought  against  labor  combinations,  while  in 
Roosevelt's  time  they  were  brought  against  the  offending 
corporations. 

I  had  been  in  close  touch  with  Roosevelt  during  his 
own  campaign  four  years  before,  but  I  must  say  he  threw 
himself  with  greater  energy  into  Taft's  campaign,  watch 
ing  every  phase  of  it  with  great  care  and  circumspection 
to  counteract  every  unfavorable  tendency  and  to  push 


254       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

promptly  every  tactical  advantage.  On  Sunday  after 
noon,  September  27th,  I  received  a  telephone  message  to 
come  to  the  White  House.  When  I  arrived  I  found  pres 
ent  Secretaries  Cortelyou  and  Meyer,  Lawrence  F. 
Abbott,  of  "The  Outlook,"  and  William  Loeb.  Roosevelt 
was  dictating  a  letter  to  Bryan,  in  answer  to  the  latter's 
attack  upon  the  Administration's  policies,  and  invited 
each  of  us  to  make  suggestions.  Those  that  seemed  good 
he  immediately  incorporated.  I  had  brought  with  me 
some  facts  and  figures  that  I  prepared  for  campaign  use, 
and  all  of  this  material  he  embodied.  WTien  the  dictation 
was  finished,  he  asked  us  to  return  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening  to  go  over  the  finished  product,  as  it  was  impor 
tant  that  the  letter  be  given  to  the  press  for  next  morn 
ing's  papers. 

When  we  arrived  in  the  evening,  the  President  was 
already  at  his  desk  correcting  the  typewritten  pages,  of 
which  there  were  about  twenty.  The  duplicates  were 
handed  to  us,  and  we  passed  them  from  one  to  another 
for  reading  and  suggestions.  At  one  point  I  suggested 
changing  an  expression  to  a  more  dignified  form,  which 
the  President  vetoed  with  the  characteristic  remark: 
"You  must  remember  this  letter  is  not  an  etching,  but 
a  poster."  That  was  an  apt  illustration  of  his  purpose, 
namely,  to  attract  and  fix  popular  attention;  and  I  with 
drew  my  suggestion. 

The  published  letter  occupied  three  and  a  half  news 
paper  columns.  It  was  powerful  and  effective  and  nailed 
some  of  the  main  fallacies  that  Bryan  had  been  expound 
ing.  This  was  the  third  such  letter  by  Roosevelt,  and 
some  people  were  inclined  to  criticize  them  as  having  the 
appearance  of  overshadowing  Taft  and  other  campaign 
orators.  This  might  have  been  true  to  an  extent,  but  it 
was  of  little  consequence  in  comparison  with  the  tremen- 


IN  THE  TAFT  CAMPAIGN  255 

dous  effect  of  the  letters  in  enlightening  the  people  with 
regard  to  the  greater  national  principles  for  which  Taft 
stood. 

The  following  week  I  started  on  a  campaign  tour.  I 
made  speeches  at  Baltimore,  Pittsburgh,  Cleveland, 
Chicago.  In  accepting  the  pressing  invitation  of  the 
National  Republican  Committee  to  make  a  series  of 
speeches,  I  made  one  condition,  which  was  that  I  would 
not  speak  at  any  meeting  gotten  up  on  sectarian  or 
hyphenated  political  lines.  It  was,  and  I  regret  to  say 
still  is,  customary,  in  political  campaigns,  especially 
among  local  managers  in  smaller  cities  with  large  foreign- 
born  populations,  to  appeal  to  their  former  national  sym 
pathies.  I  regarded  this  method  as  un-American  and  in 
imical  to  the  solidarity  of  our  Americanism.  My  letter  to 
the  chairman  of  the  speakers'  bureau,  Senator  Joseph  M. 
Dixon,  was  by  him  given  to  the  press  and  widely  pub 
lished.  It  had  a  very  good  effect,  and  through  that  cam 
paign  at  least  put  an  end  to  advertising  and  meetings 
based  on  race  or  creed  appeal.  Upon  my  return  to  New 
York  I  spoke  at  a  number  of  meetings  in  Brooklyn  and 
New  York  with  Mr.  Taft,  the  last  and  largest  of  these 
being  the  one  at  Madison  Square  Garden,  at  which 
General  Horace  Porter  presided.  Charles  E.  Hughes, 
who  was  candidate  for  Governor,  also  spoke  on  that 
occasion. 

The  President  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt  invited  Mrs.  Straus 
and  me  to  return  to  Washington  with  them  in  their 
private  car  on  election  day,  after  we  had  voted  in  our 
respective  districts.  En  route  the  President  again  men 
tioned  the  arrangements  for  his  African  trip  and  told  me 
he  had  also  accepted  an  invitation  to  speak  at  the  Sor- 
bonne,  Paris.  He  was  already  preparing  his  Oxford  ad« 


256       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

dress,  the  draft  of  which  when  ready  he  wanted  me  to 
read.  It  is  generally  believed  that  Roosevelt  did  things 
hurriedly  and  impulsively.  But  those  of  us  who  were 
acquainted  with  his  methods  knew  the  contrary  to  be 
true.  Preparedness  was  one  of  his  outstanding  char 
acteristics.  He  was  a  most  industrious  worker,  and  as 
soon  as  he  made  up  his  mind  to  do  something,  whether  it 
was  to  deliver  an  address  or  to  bring  forward  some  reform, 
he  set  to  work  at  once  making  preparations,  so  as  not  to 
leave  it  until  the  time  for  the  event  was  at  hand.  In  the 
case  of  his  Oxford  and  Sorbonne  addresses,  for  instance, 
he  prepared  them  long  in  advance  and  gave  himself  plenty 
of  time  to  correct  and  polish  them.  He  told  me  he  pursued 
this  method  because  it  freed  his  mind  and  enabled  him 
to  be  ready  for  the  next  thing  to  come  before  him.  That 
is  certainly  not  the  way  an  impulsive  man  works. 

Election  evening  in  Washington  we  were  invited  to  the 
White  House  to  receive  the  returns.  The  twenty-five  or 
thirty  other  officials  who  were  in  the  city  were  also  there 
with  their  wives.  The  returns  began  to  come  in  shortly 
after  eight  o'clock  and  were  being  tabulated  by  Secretary 
Loeb  and  his  assistants.  It  was  soon  evident  that  Taft 
was  elected,  so  that  by  eleven-thirty  we  were  able  to  send 
congratulations  to  the  successful  candidate  and  Frank  H. 
Hitchcock,  chairman  of  the  National  Committee. 

The  greatest  strength  of  Taft  proved  to  be  what  many 
supposed  would  be  his  weakness,  namely,  that  he  was  the 
choice  of  Roosevelt  and  stood  for  his  principles.  The 
masses  had  understood  the  President  and  appreciated  his 
policies,  though  the  big  interests,  the  "ledger  patriots," 
had  been  too  blinded  by  their  selfish  objects  to  recognize 
the  permanent  value  of  the  principles  and  policies  of 
America's  greatest  reformer. 


ROOSEVELT  AND  TAFT  257 

I  felt  convinced  then,  as  I  do  now,  that  the  Roosevelt 
Administration  will  go  down  in  history  as  marking  the 
beginning  of  a  new  era  in  our  history  —  an  era  marking 
the  end  of  aggression  upon  our  political  structure  by  cor 
porate  greed  and  the  beginning  of  larger  opportunities 
for  the  individual,  in  which  the  moral  principles  of  our 
public  life  were  rescued  from  the  danger  of  domination  by 
an  unprecedented  onrush  of  commercial  power. 

At  the  first  Cabinet  meeting  after  the  election  Roose 
velt  was  buoyant  as  usual.  He  made  a  few  preliminary 
remarks  about  the  approaching  end  of  the  Administra 
tion:  he  and  his  Cabinet,  especially  the  last  one,  had 
worked  in  perfect  harmony,  and  he  felt  sure  we  had  all 
had  a  "bully"  time  of  it;  he  would  retire  at  the  end  of  his 
term  without  any  regrets,  for  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  he  and  his  Cabinet  had  done  all  in  their 
power  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  Nation.  I  think  it  is 
safe  to  say  we  all  felt  a  little  sad,  I  know  I  did,  to  think 
that  in  four  months  we  should  separate,  and  that  we 
should  lose  the  inspiring  companionship  and  guidance  of 
our  leader,  to  whom  each  of  us  felt  tied  by  bonds  of  warm 
friendship  and  a  sense  of  profound  esteem  and  highest 
respect,  personally  as  well  as  officially. 

It  seemed  to  me  then  that  it  required  no  prophet's 
vision  to  see  that,  if  Roosevelt  kept  his  health,  in  four  or 
eight  years  the  people  of  the  country  would  again  de 
mand,  with  unmistakable  and  overwhelming  voice,  that 
he  become  President.  At  the  end  of  eight  years,  even,  he 
would  be  only  fifty-eight,  younger  than  most  Presidents 
at  the  time  of  assuming  office. 

The  President  now  brought  up  a  question  that  he  had 
been  carrying  over  from  the  campaign  period.  He  had 
received  several  letters  regarding  the  religion  of  Mr.  Taft. 


258       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Some  orthodox  ministerial  organizations  had  endeavored 
to  use  the  fact  that  Mr.  Taft  was  a  Unitarian  as  a  reason 
for  prejudicing  people  against  him.  Roosevelt  had  been 
tempted  to  answer  these  letters,  but  when  he  presented 
the  matter  to  the  Cabinet  it  was  the  general  consensus  of 
opinion  that  he  should  not  do  so,  that  the  issue  in 
timately  concerned  Taft,  and  information  regarding  it 
had  better  be  given  out  or  withheld  at  Taft's  discretion. 
To  this  the  President  agreed,  but  he  was  incensed  at  this 
un-American  attempt  to  bring  religion  into  politics, 
especially  as  Taft  was  every  bit  as  good  a  Christian  as 
Washington,  and  a  better  one  than  either  Jefferson  or 
Franklin;  and  his  church  was  the  same  as  that  of  Adams 
and  Webster. 

The  election  being  over,  Roosevelt  was  still  desirous  of 
expressing  his  views  in  this  matter,  and  he  brought  with 
him  to  the  Cabinet  meeting  the  draft  of  a  letter  to  be  sent 
to  one  J.  C.  Martin,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  who  had  asked  for 
a  public  statement  concerning  the  faith  of  Mr.  Taft.  As 
usual,  he  invited  criticism  and  discussion.  Several  of  us 
made  suggestions,  and  Secretary  Root  made  one  which 
the  President  asked  him  to  write  out  so  that  he  might  in 
corporate  it.  When  the  corrected  version  of  the  letter  was 
read,  we  all  agreed  that  it  was  a  remarkable  document  for 
effectively  rebuking  the  spirit  of  bigotry  and  upholding 
the  basic  principles  of  the  American  Government,  and 
that  it  should  therefore  be  published.  It  appeared  in  the 
papers  of  the  country  three  days  later. 

I  made  bold  to  ask  the  President  for  the  draft  of  this 
letter,  which  he  gladly  signed  and  gave  to  me,  and  Secre 
tary  Root  also  signed  his  penciled  insert.  As  I  consider 
this  document  worthy  of  a  permanent  place  among 
American  annals,  I  herewith  set  it  forth  from  the  original 
in  my  possession: 


ROOSEVELT  REBUKES  A  BIGOT         259 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE 
WASHINGTON,  November  4,  1908 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  have  received  your  letter  running  in  part  as  follows: 

"While  it  is  claimed  almost  universally  that  religion  should 
not  enter  into  politics,  yet  there  is  no  denying  that  it  does,  and 
the  mass  of  the  voters  that  are  not  Catholics  will  not  support 
a  man  for  any  office,  especially  for  President  of  the  United 
States,  who  is  a  Roman  Catholic. 

"Since  Taft  has  been  nominated  for  President  by  the  Re 
publican  party,  it  is  being  circulated  and  is  constantly  urged  as 
a  reason  for  not  voting  for  Taft  that  he  is  an  infidel  (Unitarian) 
and  his  wife  and  brother  Roman  Catholics.  ...  If  his  feelings 
are  in  sympathy  with  the  Roman  Catholic  church  on  account 
of  his  wife  and  brother  being  Catholics,  that  would  be  objec 
tionable  to  a  sufficient  number  of  voters  to  defeat  him.  On  the 
other  hand  if  he  is  an  infidel,  that  would  be  sure  to  mean  defeat. 
...  I  dm  writing  this  letter  for  the  sole  purpose  of  giving  Mr. 
Taft  an  opportunity  to  let  the  world  know  what  his  religious 
belief  is." 

I  received  many  such  letters  as  yours  during  the  campaign, 
expressing  dissatisfaction  with  Mr.  Taft  on  religious  grounds; 
some  of  them  on  the  ground  that  he  wlas  a  Unitarian,  and  others 
on  the  ground  that  he  was  suspected  to  be  in  sympathy  with 
Catholics.  I  did  not  answer  any  of  these  letters  during  the 
campaign  because  I  regarded  it  as  an  outrage  even  to  agitate 
such  a  question  as  a  man's  religious  convictions,  with  the  pur 
pose  of  influencing  a  political  election.  But  now  that  the  cam 
paign  is  over,  when  there  is  opportunity  for  men  calmly  to 
consider  whither  such  propositions  as  those  you  make  in  your 
letter  would  lead,  I  wish  to  invite  them  to  consider  them,  and  I 
have  selected  your  letter  to  answer  because  you  advance  both 
the  objections  commonly  urged  against  Mr.  Taft,  namely: 
that  he  is  a  Unitarian,  and  also  that  he  is  suspected  of  improper 
sympathy  with  the  Catholics. 

You  ask  that  Mr.  Taft  shall  "let  the  world  know  what  his 
religious  belief  is."  This  is  purely  his  own  private  concern;  it  is 
a  matter  between  him  and  his  Maker,  a  matter  for  his  own 
conscience;  and  to  require  it  to  be  made  public  under  penalty 


260       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

of  political  discrimination  is  to  negative  the  first  principles  of 
our  Government,  which  guarantee  complete  religious  liberty, 
and  the  right  to  each  man  to  act  in  religious  [affairs]  as  his  own 
conscience  dictates.  Mr.  Taft  never  asked  my  advice  in  the 
matter,  but  if  he  had  asked  it,  I  should  have  emphatically 
advised  him  against  thus  stating  publicly  his  religious  belief. 
The  demand  for  a  statement  of  a  candidate's  religious  belief 
can  have  no  meaning  except  that  there  may  be  discrimina 
tion  for  or  against  him  because  of  that  belief.  Discrimination 
against  the  holder  of  one  faith  means  retaliatory  discrimina 
tion  against  men  of  other  faiths.  The  inevitable  result  of  enter 
ing  upon  such  a  practice  would  be  an  abandonment  of  our  real 
freedom  of  conscience  and  a  reversion  to  the  dreadful  condi 
tions  of  religious  dissensions  which  in  so  many  lands  have 
proved  fatal  to  true  liberty,  to  true  religion,  and  to  all  advance 
in  civilization. 

To  discriminate  against  a  thoroly  upright  citizen  because  he 
belongs  to  some  particular  church,  or  because,  like  Abraham 
Lincoln,  he  has  not  avowed  his  allegiance  to  any  church,  is 
an  outrage  against  that  liberty  of  conscience  which  is  one  of 
the  foundations  of  American  life.  You  are  entitled  to  know 
whether  a  man  seeking  your  suffrages  is  a  man  of  clean  and  up 
right  life,  honorable  in  all  his  dealings  with  his  fellows,  and  fit 
by  qualification  and  purpose  to  do  well  in  the  great  office  for 
which  he  is  a  candidate;  but  you  are  not  entitled  to  know  mat 
ters  which  lie  purely  between  himself  and  his  Maker.  If  it  is 
proper  or  legitimate  to  oppose  a  man  for  being  a  Unitarian, 
as  was  John  Quincy  Adams,  for  instance,  as  is  the  Rev.  Edward 
Everett  Hale,  at  the  present  moment  Chaplain  of  the  Senate, 
and  an  American  of  whose  life  all  good  Americans  are  proud  — 
then  it  would  be  equally  proper  to  support  or  oppose  a  man 
because  of  his  views  on  justification  by  faith,  or  the  method  of 
administering  the  sacrament,  or  the  gospel  of  salvation  by 
works.  If  you  once  enter  on  such  a  career  there  is  absolutely  no 
limit  at  which  you  can  legitimately  stop. 

So  much  for  your  objections  to  Mr.  Taft  because  he  is  a 
Unitarian.  Now,  for  your  objections  to  him  because  you  think 
his  wife  and  brother  to  be  Roman  Catholics.  As  it  happens 
they  are  not;  but  if  they  were,  or  if  he  were  a  Roman  Catholic 
himself,  it  ought  not  to  affect  in  the  slightest  degree  any  man's 


LETTER  ON  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY       261 

supporting  him  for  the  position  of  President.  You  say  that 
"the  mass  of  the  voters  that  are  not  Catholics  will  not  support 
a  man  for  any  office,  especially  for  President  of  the  United 
States,  who  is  a  Roman  Catholic."  I  believe  that  when  you  say 
this  you  foully  slander  your  fellow  countrymen.  I  do  not  for 
one  moment  believe  that  the  mass  of  our  fellow  citizens  or 
that  any  considerable  number  of  our  fellow  citizens  can  be  in 
fluenced  by  such  narrow  bigotry  as  to  refuse  to  vote  for  any 
thoroly  upright  and  fit  man  because  he  happens  to  have  a  par 
ticular  religious  creed.  Such  a  consideration  should  never  be 
treated  as  a  reason  for  either  supporting  or  opposing  a  candi 
date  for  political  office.  Are  you  aware  that  there  are  several 
States  in  this  Union  where  the  majority  of  the  people  are  now 
Catholics?  I  should  reprobate  in  the  severest  terms  the  Catho 
lics  who  in  tKose  States  (or  in  any  other  States)  refused  to  vote 
for  the  most  fit  man  because  he  happened  to  be  a  Protestant; 
and  my  condemnation  would  be  exactly  as  severe  for  Protes 
tants  who,  under  reversed  circumstances,  refused  to  vote  for  a 
Catholic.  In  public  life  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I  have  known 
many  men  who  were  elected,  and  constantly  reflected,  to 
office  in  districts  where  the  great  majority  of  their  constituents 
were  of  a  different  religious  belief.  I  know  Catholics  who  have 
for  many  years  represented  constituencies  mainly  Protestant, 
and  Protestants  who  have  for  many  years  represented  con 
stituencies  mainly  Catholic;  and  among  the  Congressmen 
whom  I  knew  particularly  well  was  one  man  of  Jewish  faith 
who  represented  a  district  in  which  there  were  hardly  any  Jews 
at  all.  All  of  these  men  by  their  very  existence  in  political  life 
refute  the  slander  you  have  uttered  against  your  fellow  Ameri 
cans. 

I  believe  that  this  Republic  will  endure  for  many  centuries. 
If  so  there  will  doubtless  be  among  its  Presidents  Protestants 
and  Catholics,  and  very  probably  at  some  time  Jews.  I  have 
consistently  tried  while  President  to  act  in  relation  to  my 
fellow  Americans  of  Catholic  faith  as  I  hope  that  any  future 
President  who  happens  to  be  a  Catholic  will  act  towards  his 
fellow  Americans  of  Protestant  faith.  Had  I  followed  any  other 
course  I  should  have  felt  that  I  was  unfit  to  represent  the  Ameri 
can  people. 

In  my  Cabinet  at  the  present  moment  there  sit  side  by  side 


262       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Catholic  and  Protestant,  Christian  and  Jew,  each  man  chosen 
because  in  my  belief  he  is  peculiarly  fit  to  exercise  on  behalf  of 
all  our  people  the  duties  of  the  office  to  wich  [sic]  I  have  ap 
pointed  him.  In  no  case  does  the  man's  religious  belief  in  any 
way  influence  his  discharge  of  his  duties,  save  as  it  makes  him 
more  eager  to  act  justly  and  uprightly  in  his  relations  to  all 
men.  The  same  principles  that  have  obtained  in  appointing 
the  members  of  my  Cabinet,  the  highest  officials  under  me, 
the  officials  to  whom  is  entrusted  the  work  of  carrying  out  all 
the  important  policies  of  my  administration,  are  the  principles 
upon  which  all  good  Americans  should  act  in  choosing,  whether 
by  election  or  appointment,  the  man  to  fill  any  office  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest  in  the  land. 

Yours  truly 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

It  is  amusing  sometimes  to  contemplate  the  matters 
that  occupy  the  attention  of  certain  zealously  inclined 
religious  persons  or  groups.  I  recall  the  flurry  caused  the 
year  previous  by  the  appearance  of  the  new  five,  ten,  and 
twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  without  the  legend,  "In  God 
We  Trust,"  which  by  Roosevelt's  direction  had  been 
omitted.  As  a  matter  of  fact  that  legend  was  not  used  on 
our  coins  prior  to  1866,  when  a  law  was  passed  permitting 
it  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury.  The  issuance  of  these  coins,  artistically  designed  by 
Saint-Gaudens,  without  the  legend  was  merely  a  return 
to  the  precedents  of  the  fathers  of  the  Republic.  I 
had  a  small  collection  of  early  coins  at  the  time,  none  of 
which  bore  the  legend.  However,  when  these  new  coins 
appeared  several  religious  bodies  passed  resolutions  dis 
approving  of  the  President's  action.  Roosevelt  gave  out 
a  statement  to  the  effect  that  he  had  always  regarded  that 
legend  as  connecting  God  and  mammon,  and  therefore 
not  as  religious,  but  as  sacrilegious.  But  the  opinion 
against  the  omission  was  so  strong  that  in  subsequent 
coinage  it  was  restored.  The  agitation  had  been  somewhat 


TAFT  AND  ROOSEVELT  263 

anticipated  by  the  President,  and  he  was  not  the  least 
perturbed  by  it.  At  a  dinner  one  evening  he  remarked 
to  me,  concerning  it,  that  it  was  sometimes  a  good  thing 
to  give  people  some  unimportant  subject  to  discuss,  for 
it  helped  put  through  more  important  things. 

After  a  Cabinet  meeting  toward  the  end  of  November, 
1908,  I  was  talking  with  the  President  regarding  various 
phases  of  the  administration  of  my  Department,  and  I 
mentioned  one  or  two  matters  that  I  hoped  my  successor 
would  carry  to  completion.  Roosevelt  said  to  me:  "Well, 
I  can  tell  you  one  thing  that  Taft  told  me;  you  will  be 
head  of  the  Department  under  the  next  Administration, 
if  you  will  accept,  and  I  want  you  to  accept."  He  had 
indicated  this  once  or  twice  before,  but  had  never  stated 
it  so  definitely.  I  had  been  perfectly  content  to  finish  my 
term  of  office  with  the  close  of  the  Administration,  but  I 
felt  if  it  was  the  wish  of  both  Roosevelt  and  Taft  that 
I  continue  I  should  be  happy  to  remain. 

Taft  had  evidently  intended  retaining  several  of  the 
Cabinet  officials,  but  subsequently  changed  his  mind, 
which  was  one  of  the  things  that  caused  the  break  be 
tween  Roosevelt  and  him.  Mr.  Lawrence  F.  Abbott  has 
embodied  in  his  excellent  book,  "Impressions  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt,"  an  article  he  contributed  in  January,  1912, 
to  the  Cornwall,  New  York,  local  press,  covering  the 
Roosevelt-Taft  relations.  Before  publication  this  article 
was  sent  to  Roosevelt,  and  by  him  annotated  and  re 
turned  to  Mr.  Abbott.  The  part  regarding  the  retention 
of  Cabinet  members  reads  as  follows: 

Mr.  Taft  on  his  election  no  doubt  wished  to  carry  on  the 
work  of  his  predecessor,  and,  if  not  publicly,  often  privately 
said  that  it  was  his  desire  and  intention  to  retain  those  Cabinet 
colleagues  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  who  had  contributed  so  much  to 


26*       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  re-creation  of  the  Republican  Party.  [Note  by  Mr.  Roose 
velt:  "He  told  me  so,  and  authorized  me  to  tell  the  Cabinet,  spe 
cifically  Garfield,  Straits  and  Luke  Wright."]  But  this  intention 
became  gradually  modified  during  the  winter  of  1908-09. 

On  December  16th  I  attended  the  dinner  of  the  Ohio 
Society  in  New  York,  at  which  President-elect  Taft  made 
his  first  public  address.  There  was  a  notable  gathering 
of  the  leaders  of  finance  and  commerce  and  of  the  Repub 
lican  Party,  and  great  expectancy  was  evident  as  to  what 
Mr.  Taft  would  say.  Ex-Senator  Spooner,  a  brilliant 
speaker,  also  made  an  address,  which  contained  some 
pointed  criticisms  of  Roosevelt  policies.  He  extolled  the 
Constitution  and  in  a  veiled  way  indicated  a  deviation 
from  it  on  the  part  of  Roosevelt.  Spooner  had  made 
other  speeches  along  these  lines,  and  I  confess  to  some 
exasperation  that  this  occasion  should  have  been  used  to 
attack  Roosevelt  and  his  policies. 

Taft  was  the  last  speaker,  and  I  hoped  that  when  he 
arose  he  would  resent  these  attacks,  or  at  any  rate  uphold 
the  policies  of  the  Administration  of  which  he  had  been 
an  important  member.  But  I  was  disappointed.  He  took 
no  notice  of  what  Spooner  or  one  or  two  of  the  other 
speakers  had  said.  To  some  of  us  this  was  the  first  evi 
dence  that  there  was  a  rift  in  the  relationship  between 
Roosevelt  and  Taft. 

Mr.  Taft  invited  me  to  return  to  Washington  on  the 
train  with  him  next  morning.  En  route  I  spoke  of  Spoon- 
er's  speech,  and  said  it  appeared  to  me  as  an  attempt  to 
drive  a  wedge  between  him  (Taft)  and  the  Roosevelt 
policies,  and  that  the  attack  was  received  by  the  great 
financiers  who  were  present,  Harriman,  Ryan,  and 
others,  with  great  favor.  Taft  said  he  had  observed  it  and 
did  not  like  it.  He  thought  first  that  he  might  say  some 
thing  in  reply,  but  on  second  consideration  he  decided  to 


DINNER  OF  THE  OHIO  SOCIETY        265 

let  it  pass.  I  told  him  that  usually  I  enjoyed  such  an 
occasion  more  when  I  did  not  have  to  speak,  but  on  that 
evening  I  very  much  regretted  not  having  the  opportunity 
to  answer  that  attack. 

We  talked  of  a  number  of  things,  but  he  said  nothing 
about  desiring  to  have  me  continue  in  the  Cabinet, 
though  Roosevelt  had  mentioned  the  subject  to  me 
several  times.  I  then  concluded  that  while  in  New  York 
a  change  of  mind  had  come  to  him  in  this  matter,  and 
what  occurred  at  the  dinner  seemed  to  emphasize  this 
conclusion.  He  was  going  down  to  Augusta,  Georgia,  for 
a  short  vacation  and  asked  me  to  come  and  see  him;  but 
when  I  reached  Washington  there  was  much  to  be  done 
in  my  Department,  and,  as  he  was  besieged  by  politicians 
and  I  had  nothing  special  to  bring  to  his  attention,  I 
thought  the  more  considerate  thing  was  not  to  take  up 
his  time  needlessly. 

In  January  the  New  York  delegation  in  Congress  gave  a 
dinner  to  Vice-President-elect  Sherman  at  the  Shoreham 
Hotel  in  Washington.  There  were  present  all  the  New 
York  Congressmen,  Speaker  Cannon,  the  junior  Senator 
from  New  York,  Depew,  and  Senator-elect  Root.  Along 
about  ten  o'clock  the  President  arrived.  As  usual  on  such 
occasions,  there  was  informal  speaking,  and  of  course  the 
President  was  called  upon.  His  offhand  remarks  that 
evening  were  so  inspiring  that  I  regretted  they  were  not 
taken  down  that  they  might  have  been  preserved.  In  my 
random  notes  I  have  incorporated  the  substance  of  some 
of  them;  to  the  effect  that  our  highest  purpose  should  be 
to  perform  the  duties  before  us.  He  said  he  had  been  in 
public  life  twenty-six  years  (as  I  understood),  and  nearly 
eight  years  of  that  as  President,  and  he  had  enjoyed  it 
all;  adding,  humorously,  "even  the  scraps  I  have  had." 


266       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Referring  to  the  presidential  duties,  it  was  not  always 
possible  to  spell  out  from  the  words  of  the  Constitution 
what  those  duties  imposed  upon  the  occupant  of  the 
office.  He  instanced  the  anti-Japanese  outbreak  in  Cali 
fornia.  There  was  nothing  in  the  Constitution  that  either 
permitted  or  conflicted  with  his  taking  the  position  he 
had  in  his  communications  to  the  Governor  of  California. 
It  was  his  purpose  to  call  the  attention  of  the  people  at 
large  in  that  State  and  throughout  the  country  to  the 
dangers  of  the  situation  if  the  contemplated  legislation 
were  put  through.  He  referred  to  the  impractical  attitude 
of  the  peace  societies  and  other  peace  advocates  in  object 
ing  to  all  appropriations  for  naval  expenditures.  They 
could  render  a  better  service  by  agitating  to  prevent  a 
condition  of  international  irritation  that  had  all  the  pos 
sibilities  of  war;  the  good  effect  of  the  well-considered 
"Gentlemen's  Agreement"  with  Japan  had  been  nega 
tived  by  the  unreasonable  legislation  proposed  in  Cali 
fornia. 

Making  reference  in  a  general  way  to  the  work  of  the 
Administration,  he  said  it  was  important  to  look  to  the 
future,  but  to  fix  one's  eyes  on  the  future  and  neglect  the 
present  was  as  unwise  as  to  limit  one's  view  entirely  to 
the  present.  He  hoped  the  people  would  not  trouble 
themselves  as  to  what  to  do  with  the  ex-President;  so  far 
as  he  was  concerned  he  was  able  to  take  care  of  himself; 
upon  his  return  from  Africa  they  would  find  him  work 
ing  not  as  an  ex-President,  but  as  a  private  citizen 
in  the  ranks,  and  cooperating  with  his  party  represen 
tatives  for  the  best  interests  of  the  country. 

He  closed  by  saying  that  what  may  become  of  one's 
personal  reputation,  one's  fame  as  an  individual,  is  of  no 
consequence.  The  individual  disappears.  Oblivion  will 
engulf  us  all.  Only  results  count.  In  order  to  achieve 


THE  LAST  CABINET  MEETING          267 

results  there  must  be  cooperation.  He  was  always  ready 
to  cooperate  with  men  whose  tendencies  were  forward, 
even  if  such  cooperation  led  only  one  step  forward  where 
he  would  have  liked  ten;  but  he  would  refuse  to  cooperate 
with  men  whose  tendencies  were  backward. 

In  my  Department  I  continued  to  push  matters  for 
ward  without  allowing  the  approaching  close  of  the  Ad 
ministration  to  influence  me.  Under  date  of  January 
22d  I  received  a  letter  from  President-elect  Taft,  in 
answer  to  my  inquiry,  indicating  that  in  all  probability 
I  should  not  be  retained  in  the  Cabinet.  He  said  he 
would  have  written  sooner,  but  had  not  decided  in  what 
capacity  he  wished  me  to  serve  his  Administration, 
though  he  thought  perhaps  I  might  be  willing  to  accept 
an  embassy.  However,  he  had  not  definitely  decided  not 
to  retain  me  in  the  Cabinet.  He  found  Cabinet-making 
quite  a  difficult  job. 

Three  days  later  I  received  another  note  from  him 
mentioning  the  embassy  to  Japan.  He  hoped  to  suit 
whatever  preference  I  might  have  in  the  matter  after 
he  had  had  a  chance  to  talk  it  over  with  me  in  Wash 
ington. 

At  the  last  Cabinet  meeting  there  was  very  little  busi 
ness  transacted.  The  President  talked  to  us  informally 
and  very  impressively,  saying  he  wished  to  repeat,  what 
he  had  said  before,  that  a  President  usually  receives 
credit  for  all  the  good  work  done  in  his  Administration, 
but,  speaking  for  himself,  his  co-workers  had  an  equal 
share  in  that  credit;  no  President,  he  said,  had  had  a 
more  effective,  able,  and  cooperative  Cabinet  than  he. 
Then  he  added  humorously  that  he  wanted  no  response 
to  modify  that  statement.  Some  of  us,  however,  could 
not  resist  expressing  in  brief  the  sentiments  we  felt,  and 


268       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

I  answered  him:  If  we  have  performed  our  duties  to  your 
satisfaction  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  country,  it  is 
due  in  no  small  degree  to  the  fact  that  around  this  table 
we  have  caught  the  contagion  of  your  fine  spirit  which 
has  enabled  each  of  us  to  rise  to  our  highest  level  of 
efficiency  because  we  felt  we  were  cooperating  in  further 
ing  those  moral  issues  which  you  have  vitalized  in  our 
economic  and  national  life.  I  wish  to  add  that  our 
President  in  his  boundless  generosity  has  always  given 
to  each  one  of  us  not  only  the  fullest  credit  for  what  we 
have  done,  but  a  recognition  far  beyond  our  individual 
merits. 

On  March  4th,  at  nine-thirty  in  the  morning,  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Cabinet  assembled  in  the  White  House  and 
accompanied  the  President  to  the  Capitol.  We  went  to 
the  President's  room  on  the  Senate  side  and  there  awaited 
the  bills  to  be  brought  in  for  the  signature  of  the  Presi 
dent.  That  is  usual  at  the  closing  of  a  session,  and  many 
bills  that  had  been  passed  in  the  last  few  days  came  from 
the  engrosser  for  the  signature  of  the  President.  Each 
bill  was  handed  to  the  Secretary  whose  department  it 
affected,  and  upon  reading  it  over  the  Secretary  advised 
the  President  whether  or  not  to  sign  it.  There  were  three 
bills  affecting  my  Department,  two  of  which  I  approved, 
and  those  he  signed.  Of  the  third  I  had  no  knowledge  and 
so  stated;  that  one  the  President  passed  to  become  law 
without  his  signature. 

At  eleven  o'clock  President-elect  Taft  came  into  the 
room,  and  we  all  extended  our  congratulations  to  him. 
Precisely  at  noon  President  Roosevelt  went  into  the 
Senate  Chamber  and  we  followed.  Both  he  and  the 
President-elect  took  a  seat  before  the  Vice-President's 
desk,  and  we  were  seated  in  the  front  row,  where  were  also 


CLOSING  AN  ADMINISTRATION         269 

the  ambassadors  of  the  foreign  powers.  Vice-President 
Fairbanks  opened  the  proceedings  with  an  appropriate 
address,  whereupon  Vice-President-elect  Sherman  was 
sworn  in  and  made  a  brief  address.  The  new  Senators 
were  then  sworn  in  in  groups  of  four.  President-elect 
Taft  next  took  the  oath  of  office,  which  was  administered 
by  Chief  Justice  Fuller. 

Roosevelt  then  left  the  Senate  Chamber  to  go  to  the 
station.  In  our  carriages  we  followed  him,  and  at  either 
side  marched  over  a  thousand  Republican  delegates  from 
the  City  of  New  York.  One  could  observe  on  all  sides 
evidence  of  a  feeling  of  depression  and  regret  at  the 
departure  of  the  man  who  had  endeared  himself  to  the 
country  at  large  as  no  President  had  since  the  days  of 
Lincoln.  It  was  apparent  then,  as  the  years  have  proven, 
that  he  had  the  largest  personal  following  ever  attained 
by  any  man  in  this  country.  By  personal  following  I 
mean  one  that  is  not  dependent  on  office,  but  persists 
out  of  office  as  well.  People  were  attracted  to  him  because 
he  appealed  to  their  idealism.  They  had  faith  in  him; 
they  had  an  affection  for  him.  They  believed  he  would 
lead  them  where  they  ought  to  go  and  where,  therefore, 
they  wished  to  go.  It  was  the  fact  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  throughout  the  land  regarded  him  with  love  and 
admiration  as  the  embodiment  of  their  ideals  of  Ameri 
canism  which  enabled  him  to  exercise  such  a  tremendous 
power  for  the  welfare  of  the  country  and  which  is  des 
tined  to  enshrine  his  memory  among  the  greatest  men  in 
our  history. 

When  we  reached  the  station,  the  large  room  reserved 
on  special  occasions  for  officials  was  closed,  and  only  such 
persons  admitted  as  were  identified  by  Secretary  Loeb  — 
members  of  the  family,  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  a 
few  intimate  friends.  When  I  bade  the  President,  now 


270       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ex-President,  good-bye,  he  said  we  should  meet  often  and 
should  still  work  together. 

Roosevelt  at  the  age  of  fifty  was  once  more  a  private 
citizen,  having  been  the  youngest  President  in  our  history. 
I  am  sure  I  speak  for  my  colleagues  as  well  as  for  myself 
when  I  say  we  felt  we  were  parting  not  only  from  our 
official  chief,  but  from  one  of  our  nearest  and  dearest 
friends. 

We  returned  in  our  carriages  to  the  White  House  where 
we  took  buffet  lunch  with  President  and  Mrs.  Taft;  then 
to  the  stand  erected  in  front  of  the  White  House  to  wit 
ness  the  review. 


CHAPTER  XI 
MY  THIRD  MISSION  TO  TURKEY 

A  surgical  operation  delays  my  departure  —  Roosevelt  in  Africa  delighted 
with  my  return  to  Turkey  under  Taft  Administration  —  Received  by  another 
Sultan  —  A  royal  weakling  —  The  invisible  power  of  the  new  regime  —  For 
eign  concessions  and  political  intrigues  —  Turkish  funeral  customs  —  The 
Mohammedan  indifference  to  death  —  Roosevelt  urges  me  to  meet  him  in 
Cairo  —  We  visit  Salonica  and  Athens  —  Received  by  King  George  of  Greece 

—  Roosevelt's  arrival  at  Cairo  —  The  Kaiser's  invitation  —  Roosevelt  con 
demns  assassination  of  Premier  despite  warning  to  avoid  subject  in  his  address 

—  Roosevelt  declines  an  audience  with  the  Pope  —  At  tea  with  Prince  and 
Princess  Eitel  Friedrich  —  A  distinguished  Arab  on  international  relations  — 
Rumblings  in    the  Balkans  —  The  brilliant  Venizelos  —  My  objections  to 
"dollar  diplomacy"  —  Former  Vice-President  and  Mrs.  Fairbanks  visit  us  — 
Other  distinguished  Americans  visit  the  Embassy  —  We  visit  the  King  and 
Queen  of  Roumania  —  How  the  Queen  adopted  the  pen-name  "  Carmen  Sylva" 

—  The  cell-like  study  of  the  Queen  —  Vienna  and  London  —  Two  Rothschilds 
express  their  views  of  the  Triple  Entente  —  "The  greatest  pleasure  of  going 
abroad  is  returning  home"  —  Reflections  of  the  rift  between  the  Roosevelt 
policies  and  the  Taft  Administration. 

MY  return  to  private  life  in  1909  did  not  prove  a  dis 
turbing  transition  for  me,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that, 
on  entering  the  Cabinet  in  1906,  I  had  terminated  all  of 
my  professional  and  business  interests.  I  had  no  plans 
for  the  future.  I  had  always  entered  public  office  not 
without  some  trepidation,  and  had  always  retired  from 
such  an  office  with  a  certain  sense  of  relief  and  satisfac 
tion.  But  my  past  training  and  natural  disposition  had 
by  no  means  prepared  me  to  be  content  with  a  life  of 
"elegant  leisure."  I  soon  found  much  to  occupy  my 
energies,  and  again  took  part  in  numerous  semi-public 
activities,  and  my  cooperation  seemed  all  the  more  wel 
come  because  of  my  experience  in  office  both  at  home 
and  abroad. 

Soon  after  my  return  to  New  York,  I  was  formally 
welcomed  at  a  banquet  at  the  Hotel  Astor,  under  the 


UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

auspices  of  a  number  of  prominent  citizens,  led  by  Wil 
liam  McCarroll,  who  had  succeeded  me  as  president  of 
the  New  York  Board  of  Trade  when  I  had  left  for  Wash 
ington.  It  was,  of  course,  gratifying  to  me  to  receive  this 
attention  from  my  fellow  citizens,  irrespective  of  party, 
among  whom  I  expected  to  pass  my  remaining  years. 
Among  the  speakers  were  John  Mitchel,  St.  Clair  Mc- 
Kelway,  Richard  Watson  Gilder,  poet  and  editor  of  the 
"Century  Magazine";  the  Reverend  Leander  Chamber 
lain,  and  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott.  Dr.  Abbott,  one  of  Amer 
ica's  foremost  intellectual  and  spiritual  leaders,  is  the  only 
surviving  member  of  this  group,  and  I  am  happy  to  be 
able  to  record  that  he  is  still  in  good  health,  with  his  pen, 
which  has  lost  nothing  of  its  charm  and  vigor,  ever  inspir 
ing. 

I  quite  dismissed  from  my  mind  any  idea  of  holding 
office  in  the  Taft  Administration,  especially  after  Taft 
had  reconsidered  his  statement  or  promise  to  Roosevelt 
to  retain  me  in  the  Cabinet.  Shortly  after  my  return  from 
Washington,  however,  on  March  13,  1909,  President 
Taft  wrote  me  that  he  would  be  glad  to  have  me  accept 
the  embassy  at  Constantinople,  and  that  in  time  he  would 
transfer  me  to  some  other  post  that  might  be  more  ac 
ceptable.  He  concluded:  "I  hope  this  will  meet  your 
view,  because  I  should  like  to  have  you  in  my  administra 
tion." 

My  personal  relations  with  Mr.  Taft  had  of  course 
always  been  most  cordial  and  agreeable.  I  wrote  him 
that,  naturally,  I  had  no  desire  to  return  to  a  post  which 
I  had  occupied  twice  before,  unless  extraordinary  condi 
tions  developed  which  particularly  required  my  past  ex 
perience  there  and  made  it  imperative  that  I  accept  as 
a  public  duty,  and  even  then  I  should  accept  only  for  a 
short  time. 


A  SURGICAL  OPERATION  273 

The  President  wrote  me  that  he  would  be  glad  to  have 
me  accept  the  post  at  Constantinople  (which  had  been 
raised  to  an  embassy  since  my  last  mission),  and  that  in 
time  he  would  transfer  me  either  to  Japan  or  to  some  ac 
ceptable  post  in  Europe,  and  I  soon  received  the  following 
letter  from  the  State  Department: 

April  29, 1909 
MY  DEAR  MR.  STRAUS: 

The  President  now  desires  me  to  make  to  you  the  formal 
offer  of  the  post  of  Ambassador  to  Turkey.  The  epoch-making 
events  now  occurring  in  the  Turkish  Empire  bring  with  them 
difficulties  and  opportunities  which  make  that  post  take  on 
even  greater  importance,  and  the  President  feels  that  your 
past  service  and  keen  knowledge  of  the  Near  East  make  you 
peculiarly  qualified  to  take  charge  at  this  time  of  the  important 
Embassy  at  Constantinople. 

Adverting  to  your  previous  conversations  with  the  President 
and  with  me,  relative  to  your  disinclination  to  accept  a  post 
which  you  have  previously  held,  I  would  add  that  the  President 
would  be  glad  to  consider  your  transfer  from  Constantinople  to 
some  other  post  if  an  opportune  time  should  arrive  when  this 
was  practicable  and  when  you  wished  to  relinquish  the  impor 
tant  mission  which  is  now  tendered  to  you. 
I  am,  my  dear  Mr.  Straus, 

Very  sincerely  yours 

P.  C.  KNOX 

In  June,  while  I  was  getting  ready  for  my  departure,  I 
was  compelled  to  undergo  an  operation  for  appendicitis. 
I  therefore  wrote  the  President  asking  him  to  relieve  me 
of  my  appointment,  as  my  illness  would  delay  me  for 
another  month  or  more.  The  President  promptly  advised 
me  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  delay,  that  he  would  be  glad 
to  wait  until  my  health  was  entirely  restored  before  hav 
ing  me  start,  and  that  it  was  not  possible,  because  of  the 
troubled  conditions  hi  Turkey,  at  that  time  to  find  any 
one  to  replace  me. 


274       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

At  this  time  I  received  a  letter  from  Roosevelt,  ad 
dressed  from  the  heart  of  British  East  Africa,  expressing 
pleasure  at  my  again  going  to  Turkey: 

SAIGO  Soi,  LAKE  NAIVASHA 

16th  July,  1909 
MY  DEAR  MR.  AMBASSADOR: 

Your  letter  gave  me  real  pleasure.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  had  writ 
ten  of  you,  and  your  dear  wife,  and  two  beautiful  daughters, 
coming  out  to  see  her;  and  she  told  me  how  much  she  enjoyed 
your  visit.  As  for  the  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  memorial 
window,  my  dear  fellow,  you  said  the  very  things  that  I  would 
most  like  to  have  said  about  me,  especially  coming  from  a  man 
whom  I  so  much  respect  and  who  is  my  close  personal  friend. 

I  am  delighted  that  you  have  accepted  the  Turkish  Embassy. 
The  situation  was  wholly  changed  by  the  revolution,  and  at  this 
moment  I  think  that  Constantinople  is  the  most  important  and 
most  interesting  diplomatic  post  in  the  world. 

I  shan't  try  to  write  to  you  at  any  length,  for  I  find  it  simply 
impossible  to  keep  up  with  correspondence  here  in  camp,  and 
am  able  to  write  my  letters  at  all  at  the  moment  only  because 
a  friend  has  turned  up  with  a  typewriter. 

I  can't  say  how  I  look  forward  to  seeing  you.  I  know  nothing 
whatever  of  American  politics  at  the  present  moment.  We  have 
had  a  very  successful  and  enjoyable  trip. 

With  love  to  Mrs.  Straus  and  with  hearty  congratulations 
not  to  you  but  to  our  country  for  your  having  gone  to  Turkey, 
I  am 

Faithfully  yours 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

The  first  paragraph  refers  to  an  address  I  had  made  in 
May.  The  Reverend  J.  Wesley  Hill,  of  the  Metropolitan 
Temple,  had  one  of  the  windows  of  his  church  dedicated 
to  the  Roosevelt  Administration  and  I  was  asked  to 
deliver  the  principal  address.  I  took  for  my  subject 
"The  Spirit  of  the  Roosevelt  Administration,"  and 
reviewed  the  leading  progressive  acts  of  the  Administra 
tion  and  pointed  out  how  they  were  all  aimed  to  secure  the 


A  LETTER  FROM  ROOSEVELT  275 

rights  and  enlarge  the  opportunities  of  the  plain  people. 
I  had  in  mind  counteracting  the  influence  then  current  to 
belittle  the  work  of  the  Roosevelt  Administration.  For 
with  the  beginning  of  the  Taft  Administration,  the  reac 
tionaries  in  and  out  of  Congress  had  become  more  bitter 
and  outspoken  in  their  opposition  to  the  Roosevelt  poli 
cies;  it  seems  that  they  were  encouraged  by  the  report 
that  a  break  had  taken  place  between  Roosevelt  and 
Taft,  and  by  the  fact  that  certain  Senators  and  members 
of  the  House  who  had  fallen  out  with  Roosevelt  seemed 
to  be  specially  welcomed  at  the  White  House.  My 
address  was  therefore  widely  quoted  in  the  press  and 
subsequently  circulated  in  pamphlet  form.  I  quote  one 
of  its  salient  paragraphs: 

All  the  Roosevelt  measures  and  policies  were  based  not  only 
upon  moral  convictions,  but  upon  a  statesman's  forethought 
for  the  welfare  of  the  country.  That  he  would  encounter  the 
powerful  opposition  of  the  offending  corporate  interests  was  to 
be  foreseen  and  expected.  All  reforms  and  reformers  no  less  in 
our  country  than  in  others  have  encountered  the  reactionaries 
of  privilege  and  power,  who  persuaded  themselves  that  their 
so-called  vested  interests,  however  acquired  and  however  ad 
ministered,  were  their  vested  rights.  These  trespassing  re 
actionaries  when  not  checked  and  made  obedient  to  the  legiti 
mate  needs  and  righteous  demands  of  the  many  produced  a 
spirit  of  revenge  which  broke  out  into  revolution  at  the  extreme 
opposite  end  of  the  social  system. 

On  August  18th  Mrs.  Straus  and  I  left  New  York  on 
the  S.S.  Prinz  Friedrich  Wilhelm  for  Cherbourg.  A  week 
later  we  were  in  Paris,  where  we  met  Mrs.  Roosevelt 
with  three  of  her  children,  Ethel,  Archie,  and  Quentin. 
During  the  fortnight  of  our  stay  we  saw  a  great  deal  of 
them  and  several  times  we  went  to  the  theater  or  sight 
seeing  together.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  told  me  that  her  husband 


£76       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

had  solicitously  inquired  about  us  in  several  of  his  letters 
and  suggested  that  I  write  him. 

When  we  reached  Constantinople  on  September  18th, 
the  month  of  Ramazan  had  begun,  and  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  Rifaat  Pasha,  informed  me  that  the 
Sultan,  now  Mohammed  V,  brother  of  Abdul  Hamid, 
would  probably  delay  receiving  me  for  a  week  or  ten 
days,  until  the  middle  of  Ramazan,  and  not  at  the  end, 
as  was  customary  with  the  former  Sultan.  Accordingly 
I  was  received  on  Monday,  October  4th. 

The  residence  of  the  new  Sultan  was  in  the  Palace  of 
Dolma  Bagtche.  As  my  rank  now  was  that  of  ambassa 
dor,  this  audience  was  a  more  ceremonious  one  than 
those  of  my  former  missions.  Eight  royal  carriages  came 
from  the  Palace  to  conduct  me  and  my  staff  to  the  resi 
dence  of  His  Royal  Majesty.  The  first  of  these,  in  which 
I  rode,  was  a  most  gorgeous  affair,  with  outriders  and 
two  postilions  in  uniforms  of  brilliant  colors  standing  on 
a  platform  in  the  rear  of  the  carriage.  The  streets  of  Pera 
were  crowded  with  spectators  as  these  dazzling  equipages 
went  by,  in  spite  of  a  light  rain  that  was  falling.  As  we 
entered  the  Palace,  a  large  troop  of  soldiers  arranged 
along  each  side  of  the  main  gate  presented  arms.  I  was 
met  by  the  Chief  Introducer  of  Ambassadors  and  several 
other  officials,  who  conducted  me  to  the  audience  chamber 
above.  With  my  dragoman,  Mr.  Gargiulo,  I  then  pro 
ceeded  with  the  Chief  Introducer  of  Ambassadors  into 
the  presence  of  the  Sultan  while  the  rest  of  my  staff  were 
detained  in  an  anteroom. 

The  Sultan  was  a  man  of  about  sixty-five,  short  and 
very  thick-set.  He  was  dressed  in  military  uniform,  but 
appeared  physically  inert  and  clumsy.  During  the  whole 
thirty-three  years'  reign  of  his  brother,  Abdul  Hamid,  he 
had  been  imprisoned  in  a  palace  on  the  Bosphorus  and 


RECEIVED  BY  ANOTHER  SULTAN       277 

kept  under  constant  guard.  He  grew  up  in  ignorance  and 
his  appearance  clearly  indicated  mental  backwardness. 
His  eyes  were  dull  and  his  appearance  almost  that  of  an 
imbecile,  except  when  an  occasional  spark  of  animation 
was  noticeable.  Withal  he  seemed  kind  and  good-natured. 

When  I  made  my  address,  I  felt  as  though  I  were 
speaking  to  an  image  rather  than  a  human  being,  and  I 
went  through  it  as  quickly  as  possible,  omitting  some 
parts  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  realizing  that  it  was  simply 
a  form  and  that  the  Introducer  of  Ambassadors  would 
presently  read  the  whole  of  it  in  Turkish.  The  Sultan 
was  then  handed  the  Turkish  reply  to  read,  which  he  did 
haltingly,  even  consulting  the  Introducer  at  times  to 
decipher  a  word.  That  being  over,  the  doors  to  the  ante 
room  were  thrown  open  and  my  staff  entered,  also  the 
consul-general  and  his  staff,  and  each  man  was  presented 
to  the  Sultan.  We  were  then  conducted  back  to  the  ante 
room  and  served  with  cigarettes  and  coffee,  even  though 
it  was  Ramazan,  when  Mohammedans  do  not  drink  or 
smoke  until  after  sundown.  In  a  few  minutes  more  we 
were  conducted  back  to  our  carriages.  The  whole  function 
was  more  in  the  nature  of  mimicry  on  the  stage  than  a 
serious  diplomatic  performance. 

With  my  dragoman  I  paid  my  official  calls  upon  the 
Grand  Vizier  and  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  the 
Porte,  both  of  whom  received  me  in  full-dress  uniform 
and  immediately  returned  the  calls. 

The  Government  of  Turkey  under  the  new  regime,  with 
a  Sultan  who  was  merely  a  figurehead,  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  ministry,  and  the  ministers  hi  turn  were  appointed 
and  controlled  by  the  Young  Turks,  or  so-called  party  of 
"Union  and  Progress"  which  had  brought  on  the  revolu 
tion  of  1908  and  deposed  the  late  Sultan  in  April,  1909. 
It  required  no  great  insight  to  see  that  a  government  thus 


278       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

controlled  by  an  invisible  power  without  official  respon 
sibility  could  not  be  one  of  either  liberty  or  progress;  yet 
the  leading  ministers  were  men  of  ability  and  some  of 
them  men  of  considerable  experience.  Rifaat  Pasha,  for 
instance,  was  formerly  ambassador  to  London,  an  intel 
ligent  and  thoroughly  enlightened  statesman.  Hussein 
Hilmi  Pasha,  the  Grand  Vizier,  was  the  former  member 
of  a  joint  committee  charged  with  the  government  of 
Macedonia.  Talaat  Bey,  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
had  previously  held  an  inferior  position.  He  was  one  of 
the  leading  representatives  of  the  Young  Turk  Party  and 
was  believed  to  be  the  one  mainly  responsible  for  the 
terrible  slaughter  and  martyrdom  of  Armenians  during 
the  World  War.  After  that  war  he  fled  to  Berlin,  where, 
in  1920,  he  was  assassinated  by  a  young  Armenian. 
Djavid  Bey,  Minister  of  Finance,  was  a  remarkably 
brilliant  young  man,  about  thirty-four  years  old,  from 
Salonica.  It  was  said  he  was  a  Donmeh;  that  is,  a  mem 
ber  of  a  sect  of  apostate  Jews  also  known  as  Sabbatians 
from  the  name  of  its  Messiah  or  prophet,  Sabbatai  Zevi, 
who  gave  the  sect  its  romantic  origin  in  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Professor  Graetz  gives  a  full  and 
interesting  description  of  this  whole  movement  in  his 
"History  of  the  Jews." 

Among  my  colleagues  were  Gerard  Lowther,  who 
represented  Great  Britain;  Marquis  Imperiali,  Italy;  and 
Baron  Marschall  von  Bieberstein,  Germany.  Because  of 
the  lack  of  general  society  in  Constantinople,  the  mem 
bers  of  the  diplomatic  corps  became  very  intimate  with 
one  another,  and  this  was  so  with  my  colleagues  generally 
and  especially  between  the  German  ambassador  and 
myself,  for  we  were  also  fellow  members  of  the  Hague 
Tribunal,  and  in  1907  he  was  chairman  of  the  German 
delegation  at  the  Conferences.  He  was  by  far  the  ablest 


CONCESSIONS  AND  INTRIGUES         279 

and  most  forceful  diplomat  in  Constantinople  at  this 
period.  During  his  term  of  office  there,  German  influence 
in  the  Ottoman  Empire  entirely  overshadowed  the  Brit 
ish.  This  influence  started  its  ascendancy  following  the 
visit  of  the  Emperor  in  1898,  when  he  obtained  the  prom 
ise  of  the  concession  for  the  building  of  the  Bagdad  Rail 
way. 

When  first  the  Ottoman  Government  granted  this 
concession,  the  financiers  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and 
Germany  had  come  to  a  tentative  agreement  for  the 
joint  construction  of  the  road.  The  Germans  then 
wanted  more  than  an  equal  control  in  the  enterprise,  and 
the  negotiations  fell  through.  Had  the  interests  of  Great 
Britain  and  Germany  been  united  in  the  Near  East, 
there  probably  would  have  been  quite  a  different  align 
ment  of  Powers  on  the  chessboard  of  Europe,  and  perhaps 
the  World  War  would  have  been  prevented.  The  Bagdad 
Railway,  if  jointly  constructed,  would  have  contributed 
to  a  better  understanding  between  Great  Britain  and  Ger 
many  instead  of  accentuating  more  and  more  their  differ 
ences  as  the  road  proceeded  toward  the  Persian  Gulf. 

I  could  plainly  see  evidences,  both  in  social  life  in  the 
Turkish  capital  and  in  the  unmistakable  trend  of  diplo 
matic  alignments,  of  a  rapidly  developing  entente  between 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  Russia.  Since  the  Russo- 
Japanese  War,  and  with  the  coming  of  the  new  regime  in 
Turkey,  Russia  had  changed  her  attitude  toward  Turkey 
and  had  become  extremely  friendly.  Italy  maintained  a 
neutral  attitude  as  between  Great  Britain  and  Germany. 
Austria,  as  always,  if  not  controlled  by,  was  in  close  sym 
pathy  with,  Germany. 

Abdul  Hamid  had  developed  into  the  most  autocratic 
ruler  of  modern  times.  With  the  overthrow  of  his  regime 
and  its  colossal  system  of  secret  agents,  there  was  hope 


280       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

for  a  gradual  development  of  a  parliamentary  govern 
ment,  especially  as  some  of  the  officials  in  the  Turkish 
ministry  were  forward-looking  men,  of  considerable 
ability  and  honesty  of  purpose.  However,  just  as  the 
jealousy  between  the  Great  Powers  had  prevented  the  dis 
memberment  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  for  a  hundred  years 
or  more,  so  the  same  jealousy  prevented  rehabilitation. 
Great  Britain  favored  the  building  up  of  Turkey;  the 
policy  of  Russia,  Germany,  and  Austria  was  to  keep 
Turkey  weak  and  disorganized. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  new  regime  Germany, 
England,  France,  and  Italy  sought  concessions  from  the 
Government  for  the  development  of  mines  and  the  build 
ing  of  railroads,  docks,  and  other  public  utilities.  The 
country  was  rich  and  undeveloped,  and  the  Turks  them 
selves  had  neither  the  capacity  nor  the  money  for  such 
undertakings.  But  the  effect  of  these  concessions  was 
undermining  the  sovereignty  and  was  foreshadowing 
conflict. 

With  the  passing  of  the  old  regime  and  the  beginning  of 
the  new,  an  appalling  massacre  of  Armenians  had  taken 
place  in  Cilicia;  and  it  was  believed  that  this  massacre, 
which  cost  the  lives  of  twenty  thousand  or  more  victims, 
was  engineered  by  the  old  regime  to  discredit  the  new. 

The  first  fall  of  the  new  ministry  was  brought  about  by 
what  was  known  as  the  Lynch  affair,  which  concerned  a 
steamship  monopoly  of  an  English  company  on  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates.  The  Lynch  Company  had  a  perpetual 
concession  to  navigate  two  steamers  from  the  Persian 
Gulf  to  Bassora,  and  from  there  to  Bagdad  on  the  Tigris 
and  as  far  as  navigable  on  the  Euphrates.  There  was  also 
a  Turkish  company  with  a  similar  concession,  and  the 
English  company  undertook  negotiations  with  the  Grand 
Vizier  for  the  consolidation  of  the  two  companies,  by 


CONCESSIONS  AND  INTRIGUES         281 

which  the  Lynch  Company  was  to  pay  the  Ottoman 
Government  £160,000  in  cash.  The  new  company  was  to 
have  a  grant  for  seventy-two  years,  with  the  right  given 
to  the  Ottoman  Government  to  buy  it  all  out  at  the  end 
of  thirty-six  years  on  a  basis  to  be  agreed  upon.  The  new 
company  was  to  have  the  monopoly  of  the  navigation, 
and  it  was  to  have  an  English  president  with  a  board  of 
directors  composed  half  of  Englishmen  and  half  of  Turk 
ish  subjects. 

The  arrangements  were  made  on  behalf  of  the  ministry 
by  the  Grand  Vizier,  Hilmi  Pasha,  and  the  matter  was 
then  brought  up  under  interpellation  in  the  Parliament. 
The  first  vote  taken  was  against  confirmation  of  the 
transaction.  This  amounted  to  an  expression  of  lack  of 
confidence  in  the  ministry,  whereupon  the  Grand  Vizier 
stated  that  unless  the  transaction  was  confirmed,  he  and 
his  colleagues  would  resign.  Two  days  later,  on  motion 
of  Djavid  Bey,  the  eloquent  Minister  of  Finance,  the 
whole  matter  was  reconsidered  and  an  equally  large  vote 
cast  confirming  the  transaction.  Aside  from  registering 
confidence  or  the  lack  of  it  in  the  ministry,  the  vote 
against  confirmation  would  also  have  been  interpreted  as 
an  act  of  hostility  toward  England.  For  the  time  being 
the  problem  was  settled. 

Shortly  thereafter,  however,  there  arose  in  the  Bagdad 
vilayet  such  opposition  to  this  transaction  that  the  dep 
uties  from  that  province  threatened  to  withdraw  from 
Parliament.  The  negotiations  were  regarded  as  a  victory 
for  England  in  the  strengthening  of  her  influence  along 
the  Persian  Gulf,  and  a  defeat  for  the  Germans,  whose 
railway  terminus  would  be  at  Bassora,  at  the  junction  of 
the  two  rivers.  The  Persian  Gulf,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
of  strategic  interest  to  Great  Britain  because  it  is  the 
corridor  to  India.  German  influence  proved  the  stronger 


282       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

with  the  Young  Turks,  and  the  consolidation  of  the  Lynch 
Company  with  the  Turkish  company  was  not  confirmed. 
This  vote  resulted  in  the  fall  of  the  ministry,  for  a 
month  later  the  Young  Turks  forced  the  resignation  of 
the  Grand  Vizier.  In  giving  his  resignation  to  the  Sultan, 
the  Grand  Vizier  stated  his  reason  as  poor  health,  but 
that  was  merely  for  public  consumption.  Talaat  Bey  and 
Djavid  Bey  were  known  to  be  prominent  members  of  the 
Young  Turks,  and  the  Grand  Vizier,  who  had  been  Min 
ister  of  the  Interior  and  then  Grand  Vizier  under  the 
former  Sultan,  was  not  fully  trusted  as  being  in  accord 
with  the  regime  of  the  Young  Turks.  To  bridge  over  this 
ministerial  crisis  the  Young  Turks  offered  to  Hakki 
Pasha,  ambassador  at  Rome,  the  grand  viziership,  which 
he  accepted. 

Early  in  the  year  1910  the  diplomatic  circle  in  Con 
stantinople  was  thrown,  if  not  into  gloom,  at  least  into 
official  mourning.  The  Grand  Duke  Nicolaiovich,  uncle 
of  Czar  Nicholas  of  Russia,  and  King  Leopold  of  Bel 
gium,  died.  At  Constantinople,  more  than  at  any  capital 
in  the  world,  ceremonies  of  any  kind  were  exaggerated  to 
make  an  impression  upon  the  Turkish  mind.  And  so  in 
both  these  instances  elaborate  funeral  services  were  held 
which  the  diplomatic  representatives  attended  in  full 
uniform,  loaded  with  all  decorations.  The  service  for  the 
Grand  Duke  lasted  about  two  hours,  although  no  one 
apparently  listened  to  any  part  but  the  singing,  and  there 
was  a  general  sigh  of  relief  when  it  was  over.  The  service 
for  the  Belgian  king  was  of  a  similar  nature,  with  the 
addition  of  a  huge  catafalque,  surmounted  by  a  crown, 
erected  in  the  center  of  the  church,  which  was  so  cold 
that  most  of  us  kept  on  our  overcoats. 

Shortly  thereafter  I  attended  a  third  funeral,  this  time 


TURKISH  FUNERAL  CUSTOMS          283 

a  Turkish  one.  Hamdy  Bey,  director  and  organizer  of 
the  Imperial  Museum,  had  died  on  February  24,  1910, 
at  about  sixty-eight  years  of  age.  I  had  known  him  for 
twenty  years;  he  had  always  been  courteous  and  obliging 
to  American  visitors,  and  had  shown  many  special  favors 
to  me,  notably  in  regard  to  the  permit  for  the  Babylonian 
excavations.  The  services  took  place  at  eleven  in  the 
morning  in  front  of  the  entrance  to  the  Sophia  Mosque. 
The  funeral  cortege  consisted  of  about  a  dozen  dervishes 
clad  in  long  black  robes  with  high  conical  head-coverings 
made  of  rough  yellowish-gray  woolen  material,  and 
about  three  times  the  height  of  an  ordinary  fez.  They 
chanted  in  plaintive  tones,  "Allah!  Allah!  Allah!" 
Next  came  the  coffin-bearers,  six  in  number.  As  is  the 
custom  among  the  Mohammedans,  the  coffin  was  of 
plain  boards,  covered  with  shawls,  over  which  was  draped 
a  black  covering  with  some  phrases  from  the  Koran 
worked  into  it.  On  top  of  the  coffin  was  the  red  fez  or 
head-covering  of  the  deceased.  Behind  the  coffin  walked 
many  of  the  leading  officials  of  the  Government  and 
other  prominent  people.  The  entire  ministry  was  present. 
I  joined  the  procession  shortly  before  reaching  the  mosque 
and  was  asked  to  walk  beside  Rifaat  Pasha,  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs.  I  was  the  only  representative  of  a 
foreign  power  present,  and  my  attendance  was  warmly 
appreciated  by  the  Turkish  officials  and  by  the  relatives 
of  the  deceased. 

When  the  procession  reached  the  mosque,  the  coffin 
was  placed  upon  the  pediment  of  a  Greek  column  near  the 
entrance,  an  appropriate  place  for  it  to  rest,  I  thought. 
All  the  mourners  having  gathered  round,  one  of  the  imans 
or  priests  standing  by  the  coffin  recited  a  prayer  of  about 
six  minutes'  duration,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  put  the 
following  questions  in  Turkish  to  the  bystanders: 


284       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

"You  all  knew  Hamdy  Bey;  what  kind  of  a  man  was 
he?" 

And  the  audience  replied  "Eyi,"  meaning  "good." 

"If  he  has  done  any  wrong  to  you,  do  you  forgive 
him?" 

Their  reply  in  Turkish  signified,  "We  do." 

The  body  was  then  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  the  car 
riers  to  the  museum  enclosure  which  was  near  by,  in  front 
of  the  Chinili  Kiosque.  Djavid  Bey  then  mounted  the 
marble  portico  and  from  there  delivered  a  funeral  oration 
lasting  about  twelve  minutes,  in  which  he  referred  to  the 
excellent  work  accomplished  by  the  deceased  under  the 
most  trying  circumstances  during  the  reign  of  corruption 
and  oppression,  and  pointed  to  the  buildings  surrounding 
the  enclosure  as  the  most  fitting  and  lasting  memorial. 

A  funeral  among  the  Mohammedans  is  not  regarded  as 
a  cause  for  mourning.  Death  is  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Every  respect  is  shown  the  memory  of  the  de 
ceased,  but  there  is  neither  sanctimony  nor  suppressed 
sorrow  at  the  funeral  service.  This  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
spirit  of  fatalism  deeply  embedded  in  their  religion,  and 
which  colors  so  deeply  the  life  and  philosophy  of  a  Mo 
hammedan. 

The  attitude  of  prayer  on  the  part  of  the  bystanders 
during  this  ceremony  was  one  I  had  never  observed  at 
the  ordinary  services  in  the  mosques.  They  all  stood 
erect,  arms  horizontally  extended  forward  from  the  el 
bow,  palms  turned  upward.  The  simplicity  of  the  whole 
service  impressed  me  very  much.  The  entire  dramatic 
scene,  in  its  picturesque  surroundings,  was  unforgettable. 
The  day  was  bright  and  beautiful,  and  the  Bosphorus 
wore  its  most  attractive  coloring.  Turkish  functions, 
whether  official  or  ceremonial,  are  always  arranged  with 
quiet  dignity  and  precision. 


SALONICA  AND  ATHENS  285 

Among  the  pleasant  things  during  this  sojourn  in  Con 
stantinople  was  a  trip  to  Cairo  to  meet  Roosevelt.  On 
New  Year's  Day,  1910,  I  received  a  note  from  him 
scribbled  off  in  pencil,  asking  that  I  meet  him  if  possible 
about  March  22d  at  Cairo;  he  would  wire  me  later  from 
the  upper  Nile  a  more  exact  date.  He  could  not  come  to 
Constantinople  because  he  had  to  include  Christiania  in 
his  itinerary,  which  made  it  a  little  difficult  to  carry  out 
his  plans. 

In  due  time  I  received  a  telegram  from  him  from  Gon- 
dokoro,  on  the  lower  Nile,  to  meet  him  on  March  23d. 
Accordingly  Mrs.  Straus  and  I  started  from  Constanti 
nople  on  March  7th  in  the  embassy  dispatch  boat,  Scor 
pion,  a  ship  of  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  manned 
by  a  crew  of  seventy-five  or  eighty  bluejackets.  We  left 
a  little  early  in  order  to  be  able  to  make  stops  at  several 
ports  on  the  way,  notably  Salonica,  which  in  many  re 
spects  was  the  most  advanced  city  of  the  empire.  It  had 
about  135,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  some  20,000  were 
Greek,  15,000  Bulgarian  and  other  Balkan  peoples,  and 
the  rest  chiefly  Jews.  The  ancestors  of  many  of  the  latter 
had  settled  there  centuries  before  as  refugees  from  Spain 
at  the  time  of  the  Inquisition.  As  was  the  case  with  many 
of  the  other  Jews  of  Turkey  their  language  was  Ladino, 
a  Spanish  dialect. 

We  stayed  at  Salonica  three  days  and  visited  the  prin 
cipal  institutions  of  the  city,  and  the  Jewish  hospitals  and 
schools,  all  of  which  I  found  superior  to  any  I  had  seen 
in  Turkey  proper.  They  were  conducted  on  modern  sci 
entific  lines.  The  leaders  of  finance  and  industry  were  the 
Jews  and  the  Greeks,  while  at  the  same  time  the  hewers 
of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water,  those  who  loaded  the 
ships  and  did  the  hauling,  were  also  principally  Jews. 

Next  we  stopped  at  Athens,  where  we  met  my  brother 


286       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Isidor  and  his  wife,  who  were  making  a  tour  of  the  Orient. 
Our  six-days'  stay  in  Athens  was  made  delightful  for  us  by 
the  courtesies  of  our  minister,  George  H.  Moses,  now  and 
for  some  years  past  United  States  Senator  from  New 
Hampshire.  We  visited  the  Boule,  or  Greek  Chamber, 
one  afternoon.  What  mainly  impressed  one  was  the 
lack  of  decorum  and  dignity.  The  Minister  of  War,  who 
also  represented  the  military  league,  was  the  dominating 
power.  I  thought  then  how  unfortunate  it  was  for  a 
country  to  be  ruled  by  the  sabered  politician.  Then  truly 
does  the  army  become  a  curse  to  the  Government,  as 
well  as  inefficient  for  the  protection  it  is  supposed  to  give. 
When  the  army  enters  politics,  then  politics  also  enters 
the  army,  a  double  calamity  for  any  state.  But  that 
seemed  to  be  the  lamentable  condition  of  Greece  as  I  saw 
it  at  that  time. 

We  were  received  in  audience  by  King  George,  who 
spoke  perfect  English.  I  had  met  him  before,  on  my  visit 
to  Athens  in  1888.  He  conversed  freely  and  with  the 
objectiveness  of  an  outsider  about  the  disturbed  political 
conditions  of  Greece,  which  was  at  the  time  dominated 
by  a  military  league,  a  secret  organization  of  army  offi 
cers.  Referring  to  this  league,  the  King  said  that  out 
siders  probably  regarded  him  as  weak  in  giving  way  to 
its  demands,  but  that  they  did  not  appreciate  conditions; 
he  did  it  to  prevent  a  revolution,  and  he  hoped  that  unity 
among  the  people  might  be  promoted  by  the  approaching 
meeting  of  the  Assembly  for  the  revision  of  the  constitu 
tion. 

He  seemed  remarkably  well  informed  regarding  our 
system  of  government  and  American  affairs  generally. 
He  said  that  Greece  needed  a  council  of  state  with  coordi 
nate  legislative  power,  rather  than  a  senate.  He  appeared 
to  favor  a  small  appointed  body  rather  than  an  elective 


KING  GEORGE  OF  GREECE  287 

senate.  He  said  he  had  been  in  Greece  for  fifty  years;  he 
had  come  there  when  he  was  eighteen  and  was  educated 
for  the  navy.  He  added  drily  that  it  might  have  been 
better  if  he  had  stuck  to  the  profession  of  his  training. 

He  knew  I  was  on  my  way  to  Egypt  to  meet  Roosevelt 
for  whom  he  expressed  the  greatest  admiration.  He  said 
he  had  read  several  of  Roosevelt's  books  and  had  always 
had  a  desire  to  meet  him. 

We  went  on  to  Alexandria  by  the  Roumanian  boat. 
The  sea  seemed  rough,  so  we  thought  best  to  send  the 
Scorpion  on  ahead  so  that  we  might  make  the  trip  lei 
surely,  and  on  March  21st  we  arrived  in  Cairo,  where 
Consul-General  Iddings  had  reserved  rooms  for  us  at  the 
Shepheard  Hotel,  adjoining  the  suite  reserved  for  the 
Roosevelts. 

The  Roosevelt  party  arrived  from  Luxor  at  about  nine 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  March  24th.  We  went  to  the 
station  to  meet  the  train,  and  there  was  quite  a  gathering, 
including  the  consul-general  and  his  wife,  an  aide  of  the 
Khedive,  an  aide  of  the  Sirdar,  a  number  of  American 
missionaries,  and  several  others.  Cairo  was  astir.  Ameri 
can  flags  were  flying  on  many  buildings,  and  at  the  hotel 
a  great  crowd  cheered  as  Roosevelt  entered. 

After  breakfast  the  first  morning,  Roosevelt  wanted  me 
to  read  several  letters  he  had  dictated,  among  others  a 
reply  to  the  invitation  that  had  been  extended  by  the 
Kaiser  asking  Roosevelt  to  be  his  guest  in  the  palace  in 
Berlin.  The  invitation  did  not  include  Mrs.  Roosevelt, 
and  this  he  resented.  He  therefore  dictated  a  letter  to 
Ambassador  David  J.  Hill  saying  he  would  be  pleased  to 
call  on  the  Emperor  on  the  day  designated,  but  could  not 
accept  the  invitation  to  be  his  guest,  as  he  did  not  purpose 
to  separate  from  Mrs.  Roosevelt.  He  asked  Ambassador 
Hill  to  be  sure  to  submit  the  message  to  the  Emperor's 


288       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

chamberlain  in  such  a  way  that  it  could  not  be  construed 
as  a  hint  for  an  invitation  for  Mrs.  Roosevelt.  I  advised 
against  sending  this  letter  and  asked  him  to  let  me  handle 
the  matter.  This  I  did,  and  Ambassador  Hill  soon  dis 
covered,  what  I  had  suspected,  that  the  Emperor  was 
not  aware  at  the  time  the  invitation  was  sent  that  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  was  with  her  husband.  The  omission  was  im 
mediately  corrected. 

Roosevelt  was,  of  course,  anxious  for  news  from  home. 
He  spoke  again  of  Taft's  having  told  him  he  would  retain 
Garfield  and  myself,  and  said  Taft  was  aware  that  he 
(Roosevelt)  was  specially  attached  to  us  both.  I  showed 
him  an  article  in  a  current  "North  American  Review," 
entitled  "The  First  Year  of  Taft's  Administration," 
which  plainly  showed  that  much  ground  had  been 
lost. 

Roosevelt  was  to  deliver  an  address  before  the  Egyp 
tian  National  University.  He  handed  me  the  draft  of  it 
and  asked  me  to  criticize  it  freely.  I  suggested  a  number  of 
changes,  which  he  promptly  adopted.  He  had  been  asked 
not  to  refer  to  the  recent  assassination  of  the  Premier  of 
Egypt,  Budros  Pasha  —  a  deed  that  had  probably  been 
inspired  by  the  Nationalists,  a  party  composed  chiefly  of 
young  students,  half -educated  theorists,  and  a  few  others 
whose  shibboleth  was  "Egypt  for  the  Egyptians."  Roose 
velt  considered  that  it  would  be  cowardly  and  evasive  to 
avoid  this  subject,  and  that  usually  the  subjects  one  is 
asked  not  to  refer  to  are  the  ones  uppermost  in  the  minds 
of  the  people.  Besides,  if  he  did  not  openly  condemn  such 
an  act,  his  silence  might  be  interpreted  as  an  approval. 
In  view  of  all  the  circumstances  I  fully  agreed  with  him. 
The  speech  was  delivered  in  a  large  hall  filled  to  capacity; 
the  consular  body  and  many  Egyptian  ministers  were 
present.  About  one  third  of  the  audience  understood 


WITH  ROOSEVELT  IN  CAIRO  289 

English,  and  the  address  was  enthusiastically  received, 
and  had  an  excellent  effect,  as  I  afterward  learned,  upon 
law  and  order  in  Egypt. 

Roosevelt  gave  a  luncheon  at  the  hotel  to  Sir  Gaston 
Maspero  and  Professor  Sayce,  the  eminent  Egyptologists, 
which  we  attended.  There  were  about  fifteen  people 
present,  among  them  Mr.  Lawrence  F.  Abbott,  of  "  The 
Outlook,"  who  had  joined  the  Roosevelt  party  at  Khar 
tum.  It  was  a  delightful  occasion  and  reminded  us  of  the 
old  days  at  the  White  House.  Roosevelt  always  had  the 
faculty  of  surrounding  himself  with  people  who,  whether 
from  prominent  or  humble  walks  of  life,  were  worth  while. 
There  were  so  many  facets  to  his  nature  that  he  could 
make  interesting  contacts  with  all  sorts  of  folk,  those  of 
the  forest  as  well  as  those  of  the  closet. 

From  Gondokoro,  Roosevelt  had  written  Ambassador 
Leishman  at  Rome  saying  he  would  be  glad  of  the  honor 
of  presentation  to  His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  X.  At  Cairo 
he  received  the  following  cable  reply  from  Ambassador 
Leishman : 

The  Rector  of  the  American  Catholic  College,  Monsignor 
Kennedy,  in  reply  to  inquiry  which  I  caused  to  be  made,  re 
quests  that  the  following  communication  be  transmitted  to  you: 
"The  Holy  Father  will  be  delighted  to  grant  audience  to  Mr. 
Roosevelt  on  April  5,  and  hopes  nothing  will  arise  to  prevent  it, 
such  as  the  much-regretted  incident  which  made  the  reception 
of  Mr.  Fairbanks  impossible." 

I  merely  transmit  this  communication  without  having  com 
mitted  you  in  any  way  to  accept  the  conditions  imposed,  as  the 
form  appears  objectionable,  clearly  indicating  that  an  audi 
ence  would  be  canceled  in  case  you  should  take  any  action  while 
here  that  might  be  construed  as  countenancing  the  Methodist 
mission  work  here.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Fairbanks,  it  may  be  remembered,  was  granted  an 
audience  with  His  Holiness,  but  on  the  same  day  accepted 


290       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

an  invitation  to  lecture  before  the  Methodist  body  in 
Rome  whose  propaganda  was  inimical  to  the  Vatican. 
This  displeased  His  Holiness  and  the  audience  was  there 
upon  canceled. 

Roosevelt  answered  Leishman's  cable  to  the  effect  that 
while  he  fully  recognized  the  right  of  the  Holy  Father  to 
receive  or  not  to  receive  whomsoever  he  chose,  he  could 
not  submit  to  conditions  which  would  in  any  way  limit 
his  freedom  of  conduct.  But  the  Vatican  stood  firm  on 
the  conditions  set  forth: 

His  Holiness  will  be  much  pleased  to  grant  an  audience  to 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  for  whom  he  entertains  great  esteem,  both 
personally  and  as  President  of  the  United  States.  His  Holiness 
quite  recognizes  Mr.  Roosevelt's  entire  right  to  freedom  of 
conduct.  On  the  other  hand,  in  view  of  the  circumstances,  for 
which  neither  His  Holiness  nor  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  responsible, 
an  audience  could  not  occur  except  on  the  understanding  ex 
pressed  in  the  former  message. 

Consequently,  while  Roosevelt  did  not  go  to  the  Vati 
can,  he  was  received  with  great  cordiality  at  the  Quirinal 
by  King  Victor  Emmanuel  III.  In  order  not  to  have  the 
Vatican  incident  misunderstood  at  home,  Roosevelt  sent 
a  message  regarding  it  to  the  American  people,  through 
the  pages  of  "The  Outlook"  of  April  9, 1910.  Mr.  Abbott 
makes  detailed  mention  of  the  episode  in  his  "Impres 
sions  of  Theodore  Roosevelt." 

Mrs.  Straus  and  I  were  invited  to  luncheon  with  Sir 
Eldon  and  Lady  Gorst,  British  consul-general  at  Cairo, 
where  we  met  Professor  Oscar  Browning,  of  Cambridge, 
among  others.  Sir  Eldon  was  the  successor  of  Lord 
Cromer,  and  had  had  many  years  of  experience  in  Egypt 
in  official  capacities.  He  spoke  of  the  unrest  among  the 
natives,  especially  those  who  had  lived  abroad  as  univer- 


PRINCE  EITEL  FRIEDRICH  291 

sity  students.  These  were  in  fact  the  leaders  of  the  Na 
tionalist  Party,  a  movement  stimulated  by  the  establish 
ment  of  the  new  regime  in  Turkey  and  the  parliamentary 
form  of  government  in  Persia.  Some  of  the  Arabic  papers 
were  encouraging,  if  not  actually  inciting,  opposition  to 
the  British  protectorate.  He  said  the  British  policy  was 
to  grant  by  degrees  an  always  larger  share  of  local  self- 
government,  but  it  was  feared  that  if  the  national  spirit 
was  too  much  encouraged  there  would  be  a  reversion  to 
conditions  that  prevailed  prior  to  the  British  occupation 
of  the  country.  He  explained  that  Lord  Cromer's  ad 
ministration  covered  the  period  of  national  improve 
ments,  such  as  the  reform  of  taxes,  and  the  building  of 
railways  and  irrigation  works;  and  that  now  had  come  the 
desire  for  political  changes. 

I  have  referred  to  that  part  of  Roosevelt's  speech  at  the 
National  University  in  which  he  condemned  the  assassi 
nation  of  the  premier.  Sir  Eldon  said  he  had  been  con 
sulted  in  regard  to  the  speech  before  its  delivery,  and 
that  if  he  had  expressed  any  objection  he  was  sure  Mr. 
Roosevelt  would  either  have  omitted  that  part  of  the 
address  or  declined  to  speak  altogether,  for  he  knew  Mr. 
Roosevelt  would  not  do  anything  to  embarrass  British 
interests.  He  had  had  no  objection,  and  made  this  clear 
to  Mr.  Iddings,  who  made  the  inquiry. 

We  were  all  invited  to  a  tea  at  the  German  Diplomatic 
Agency,  to  meet  the  Prince  and  Princess  Eitel  Friedrich, 
who  were  on  a  visit  to  Egypt.  Eitel  Friedrich  is  the  sec 
ond  son  of  William  II  of  Germany.  I  had  little  opportu 
nity  to  speak  with  him  because  he  and  Roosevelt  were 
engaged  almost  the  entire  time  in  an  animated  conversa 
tion,  during  which  both  remained  standing.  My  impres 
sion  of  the  Prince  was  that  he  seemed  tremendously  im 
pressed  with  his  own  importance.  I  had  a  pleasant  chat 


292       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

with  the  Princess,  whom  I  found  very  charming.    She 
seemed  to  me  of  a  type  more  Austrian  than  German. 

On  March  30th  we  left  Cairo,  going  with  the  Roosevelt 
party  as  far  as  Alexandria,  where  they  boarded  a  ship  for 
Naples,  and  we  went  aboard  the  Scorpion.  Our  little  ship 
was  dressed  in  its  complimentary  flags,  the  band  was 
playing,  and  the  commander  had  drawn  up  the  blue 
jackets  on  the  main  deck  to  present  arms,  so  that  the 
Roosevelt  party  was  being  saluted  with  all  the  form, 
splendor,  and  dignity  that  our  ship  could  muster.  The 
sea  was  much  calmer  than  when  we  came,  and  we  reached 
Constantinople  in  a  little  less  than  three  days.  I  had 
intended  stopping  at  several  other  ports  to  confer  with 
our  consuls,  and  to  visit  Jerusalem,  Beirut,  and  Smyrna; 
but  as  my  instructions  were  to  hasten  my  return  I  did  so. 

During  my  third  mission  in  Turkey  I  saw  quite  a  good 
deal  of  Mahmoud  Chevket  Pasha,  the  generalissimo  of 
the  Turkish  army,  who  was  at  the  same  time  Minister  of 
War.  He  was  fifty-two  years  old,  of  spare  frame,  medium 
height,  with  a  full  beard  that  was  turning  gray.  He  was 
an  Arab,  born  in  Bagdad.  He  told  me  that,  when  he  was 
a  younger  man  and  a  major  in  the  army,  he  spent  ten 
years  in  Germany  studying  the  German  military  system 
and  training.  It  was  evident  to  every  observer  that  under 
his  generalship  the  Turkish  army  had  vastly  improved 
both  in  appearance  and  in  discipline. 

I  found  him  a  well-educated,  modern  man.  At  that 
time  he  enjoyed  a  world-wide  reputation  as  the  most 
important  and  dominating  official  in  the  empire,  because, 
as  general  of  the  Third  Army  Corps,  stationed  at  Sa- 
lonica,  he  had  marched  his  men  to  Constantinople,  de 
throned  the  late  Sultan,  and  established  the  new  regime. 
Within  a  few  months  he  had  made  visits  to  Austria, 


A  DISTINGUISHED  ARAB  293 

France,  and  Germany,  and  was  received  with  great 
honors.  In  the  leading  cities  of  these  countries  he  made 
addresses  that  were  statesmanlike  and  internationally 
tactful.  Throughout  he  represented  his  country  with 
admirable  tact  and  judgment. 

During  one  of  our  conversations  the  generalissimo  told 
me  that  the  only  cloud  on  the  horizon  was  the  effort  of  the 
Greeks  to  make  the  Island  of  Crete  a  part  of  their  country. 
He  thought  the  general  conditions  in  Turkey  were  good 
and  that  there  was  no  danger  of  internal  troubles,  because 
the  Government  had  things  well  in  hand.  Should  Greece 
make  any  hostile  move,  he  knew  Turkey  could  easily 
defeat  her.  He  did  not  think  that  any  of  the  Balkan 
Powers  would  join  Greece,  since  they  could  not  do  so  with 
out  drawing  in  some  of  the  big  Powers,  and  the  latter 
would  not,  as  a  matter  of  self-interest,  allow  the  Balkan 
States  to  join  Greece  in  a  war. 

We  were  speaking  rather  frankly,  and  I  asked  him 
whether  he  thought  Russia  desired  the  advancement  of 
Turkey  and  its  steady  growth  under  the  new  regime.  He 
realized  that  Russia  was  then  entirely  friendly,  but  said 
it  was  not  because  she  favored  a  progressive  Turkey,  but 
because  since  her  war  with  Japan  she  was  in  no  position 
to  take  advantage  of  the  misfortunes  of  Turkey.  I  asked 
him  what  he  thought  of  the  real  attitude  of  Germany.  He 
answered  that  he  thought  Germany  entirely  friendly; 
that  her  desire  was,  of  course,  to  advance  her  commercial 
interests  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  but  that  in  this  respect 
she  was  perhaps  not  different  from  other  nations  who 
regarded  Turkey  as  a  good  field  for  commercial  opera 
tions. 

Shortly  thereafter  the  political  atmosphere  was  con 
siderably  disturbed  by  the  Crete  affair,  just  as  Chevket 
Pasha  had  foreseen.  The  Greek  army  had  entered  poli- 


294       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

tics  and  dominated  the  Government.  It  caused  several 
changes  of  ministers  and  forced  the  King  to  consent  to 
the  summoning  of  a  National  Assembly  consisting  of 
twice  as  many  delegates  as  there  were  members  in  Parlia 
ment.  Crete  also  insisted  upon  sending  delegates,  which 
would  have  been  tantamount  to  incorporating  itself  as 
part  of  Greece  politically. 

The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  frankly  told  the  am 
bassadors  of  all  the  leading  Powers,  as  well  as  the  Greek 
minister,  that  if  the  Greek  National  Assembly  admitted 
delegates  from  Crete,  Turkey  would  regard  that  as  a 
casus  belli.  There  was  a  rumor  at  the  same  time  that 
Bulgaria  was  preparing  to  take  advantage  of  the  crisis  to 
make  war  on  Turkey,  either  by  uniting  with  Greece  or  in 
conjunction  with  some  of  the  other  Balkan  States.  The 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  had  managed  well,  and  the 
four  big  Powers,  England,  Russia,  France,  and  Italy, 
bestirred  themselves  and  the  situation  was  allayed  for 
the  time. 

Greece  had  purchased  from  Italy  a  man-of-war  of 
about  ten  thousand  tons,  which  was  being  fitted  and 
armored  for  delivery  within  six  months.  To  offset  this 
augmentation  of  the  Greek  navy,  already  stronger  than 
the  Turkish,  Turkey  wanted  to  purchase  a  man-of-war 
of  sufficient  size  to  outclass  the  one  being  fitted  for 
Greece.  The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  called  on  me 
with  a  memorandum  of  the  size  of  the  ship  and  the 
strength  of  the  armament  desired,  together  with  a  state 
ment  that  the  object  of  the  Ottoman  Government  in  the 
purchase  of  it  was  not  to  make  war,  but  to  safeguard  the 
peace  of  Turkey  and  possibly  of  Europe.  It  was  thought 
that  the  moral  effect  upon  Greece  of  such  a  purchase 
would  prevent  her  from  taking  any  action  that  would 
cause  war. 


THE  CRETE  AFFAIR  295 

I  cabled  this  proposal  in  detail  to  Secretary  Knox,  and 
requested  a  reply  by  cable.  I  knew  that  we  had  several 
ships  that  would  probably  answer  the  requirements  of 
Turkey,  and  I  thought  that,  aside  from  the  moral  effect 
this  might  have  in  preventing  a  war  between  Turkey  and 
Greece,  it  would  enable  us  to  substitute  a  new  ship  of  our 
own  for  an  old  one.  It  was  not  a  question  of  price,  as 
Turkey  had  put  aside  sufficient  money  to  pay  for  such 
a  ship. 

A  few  days  later  Chevket  Pasha  also  called  on  me, 
and  again  assured  me  that  the  purchase  was  designed  to 
have  an  immediate  effect  upon  the  maintenance  of  peace, 
and  that  the  people  of  Turkey  would  be  forever  grateful 
to  the  United  States  if  we  should  sell  them  the  ship. 

But  after  the  lapse  of  a  week  or  more,  I  finally  received 
a  negative  answer  from  the  State  Department,  saying 
that  such  a  sale  could  not  be  made  without  the  authority 
of  Congress.  This,  of  course,  I  knew;  but  since  the  trans 
action  would  have  given  us  the  opportunity  to  add  a  new 
ship  to  replace  the  other,  I  thought  such  legislation  might 
readily  have  been  obtained.  The  Turkish  Government 
then  made  application  to  Germany,  and  that  country 
seized  the  opportunity  further  to  cement  its  friendly  re 
lations  with  the  Ottoman  Empire,  which  later  had  such 
an  important  bearing  in  the  World  War. 

About  a  year  after  this  Crete  affair,  Chevket  Pasha 
was  assassinated  as  he  was  coming  out  of  the  Sublime 
Porte.  No  greater  loss  could  have  befallen  Turkey  than 
the  removal  at  that  time  of  her  greatest  general  and  most 
enlightened  statesman.  He  was  the  best-informed  Turk 
ish  statesman  I  have  ever  known,  with  a  clear  and  correct 
view  of  the  entire  European  situation.  What  the  conspir 
acy  was  behind  this  shooting  was  never  brought  to  light. 

The  affairs  of  Crete  at  that  time  were  in  the  hands  of 


296       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  energetic  and  brilliant  leader  who  has  since  come  to 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  of  all  Eu 
rope,  Eleutherios  Venizelos.  At  the  Paris  Peace  Con 
ference  his  recognition  was  complete.  The  Greeks,  how 
ever,  have  always  shown  themselves  to  be  a  fickle  and 
ungrateful  people,  and  from  the  time  of  Socrates  have 
turned  against  their  foremost  philosophers  and  states 
men,  and  their  attitude  toward  Venizelos  is  the  most 
recent  illustration  of  those  traits.  Venizelos  is  practically 
a  refugee  from  his  own  country  and  at  this  writing  is 
visiting  our  country  to  study  American  institutions. 

The  main  reason  I  accepted  the  post  at  Turkey  for  the 
third  time  was  to  secure  the  legal  status  and  rights  of 
American  institutions  under  definite  laws  in  the  new 
regime.  The  Turks  had  promulgated  a  law,  known  as  the 
"Law  of  Associations,"  under  the  ingenious  restrictions 
of  which  they  sought  to  place  all  foreign  institutions. 
That  would  have  given  the  Ottoman  authorities,  both 
civil  and  judicial,  the  power  so  to  impede  the  work  of 
these  institutions  as  to  prevent  them  from  functioning. 
I  pointed  out  to  the  Grand  Vizier  that  the  Law  of  Associ 
ations  was  contrary  to  the  acquired  rights  of  the  institu 
tions,  which  had  been  legally  recognized  for  many  years, 
and  taking  section  by  section  I  showed  him  the  inap 
plicability  of  it  to  these  institutions.  After  months  of 
negotiations,  as  usual  in  Turkey,  I  succeeded  in  getting 
a  decision  from  the  Council  of  Ministers  exempting  for 
eign  institutions  of  a  religious,  educational,  or  benevolent 
character. 

There  were  three  or  four  other  matters  that  I  succeeded 
hi  bringing  to  a  successful  close.  Contrary  to  the  real- 
property  laws  of  1868,  our  institutions  were  being  denied 
the  right  to  hold  in  their  names  real  property  necessary 


RIGHTS  OF  OUR  INSTITUTIONS         297 

for  their  operation,  and  this  right  I  was  able  to  secure  for 
them.  Among  other  things  I  obtained  a  charter  for  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirut,  and  I  got  an  irade  or 
permit  for  the  construction  of  new  buildings  for  Robert 
College.  The  American  College  for  Girls,  at  Scutari  on 
the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Bosphorus,  wanted  to  transfer  the 
institution  over  to  Arnaoutkeui  on  the  European  side, 
its  present  location,  and  I  secured  permission  for  this 
transfer  and  for  the  construction  of  its  buildings. 

While  these  various  negotiations  were  in  progress,  I 
received  an  instruction  from  Secretary  Knox  at  which  I 
took  umbrage.  It  contained  the  following  paragraph: 
"If  I  am  correct  in  understanding  that  American  educa 
tional  and  missionary  interests  in  Turkey  are  in  fact 
receiving  treatment  in  substance  entirely  satisfactory,  I 
conclude  that  the  chief  influence  should  at  present  be 
centered  upon  a  substantial  advancement  of  our  prestige 
and  commerce." 

This  had  no  other  meaning  than  that  instead  of  vigor 
ous  effort  for  the  protection  of  American  colleges,  schools, 
and  hospitals,  whose  rights  under  the  new  regime  were 
being  seriously  threatened  by  new  laws  and  regulations, 
I  was  to  transfer  my  efforts  to  securing  shipbuilding  and 
railway  concessions.  I  promptly  advised  the  Department 
that  this  understanding  was  not  correct,  that  the  interests 
of  our  institutions  were  being  seriously  threatened,  and 
that  the  proper  protection  of  these  interests  in  no  way 
conflicted  with  the  advancement  of  our  commercial 
interests. 

I  continued  to  push  the  negotiations  on  behalf  of  our 
institutions,  for  I  knew  that  a  let-up  at  that  time  would, 
instead  of  benefiting  our  commercial  interests,  convey  the 
impression  of  weakness  on  the  part  of  our  Government 
in  looking  out  for  American  interests.  In  several  dis- 


298       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

patches  I  pointed  out  to  the  Department  that  to  exert 
official  pressure  for  railway  concessions  in  Turkey  would 
likewise  require  the  protection  of  such  concessions,  when 
obtained,  by  strenuous  official  action  which  might  at 
some  time  even  involve  the  use  of  force,  and  could  not  fail 
to  enmesh  us  in  the  intricate  political  problems  of  the 
Near  East.  I  asked  the  Department  to  weigh  carefully 
the  possible  advantage  of  concessions  to  a  few  American 
exploiters,  against  the  serious  disadvantages  that  the 
protection  of  these  concessions  would  impose.  I  pointed 
out  that  invariably  the  Turkish  Government,  of  its  own 
accord  or  through  outside  pressure,  failed  to  live  up  to  its 
contracts  if  not  compelled  to  do  so,  and  that  the  situa 
tion  would  be  further  complicated  by  the  conflicting 
interests  of  the  other  Powers  whose  commercial  dealings 
were  subordinate  to  their  political  strategy.  To  ordinary 
commercial  transactions,  such  as  export  and  import, 
these  risks  did  not,  of  course,  apply;  but  they  were  par 
ticularly  troublesome  with  regard  to  the  building  and 
running  of  railways  on  Turkish  territory. 

Among  our  distinguished  visitors  during  this  mission 
were  former  Vice-President  and  Mrs.  Fairbanks,  who 
were  on  their  tour  round  the  world.  They  were  our  guests 
for  a  week,  and  we  gave  a  series  of  dinners  to  have  them 
meet  the  leading  diplomatic  and  Turkish  officials.  Among 
the  latter  was  Ahmed  Riza  Bey,  president  of  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  who  had  for  twenty  years  been  a  refugee  in 
Paris,  where  he  edited  a  Turkish  paper.  He  spoke  French 
fluently.  He  was  said  to  be  practically  the  head  of  the 
Young  Turks  Party.  He  was  blue-eyed,  handsome,  and 
thoroughly  modern.  His  father  was  one  of  the  chamber 
lains  of  Sultan  Abdul  Aziz,  and  his  mother,  an  Austrian, 
once  told  Mrs.  Straus  that  she  had  almost  forgotten  the 


DISTINGUISHED  VISITORS  299 

German  language  because  she  had  not  used  it  in  so  long 
a  time,  for  she  was  only  seventeen  when  she  was  married. 

Riza  Bey  was  very  much  interested  to  learn  from  Mr. 
Fairbanks  the  rules  of  parliamentary  procedure.  The 
Chamber  of  Deputies  had  not  as  yet  adopted  any  such 
rules  and  its  proceedings  lacked  system  and  order. 

A  few  days  later,  while  the  president  of  the  Chamber 
was  calling  on  me,  the  palace  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
Tcheragan  on  the  Bosphorus,  burned  to  the  ground,  —  an 
unfortunate  occurrence  not  only  because  of  the  material 
loss,  but  because  it  was  looked  upon  by  the  populace  as  a 
visitation  from  God  against  the  new  regime. 

Judge  and  Mrs.  Alton  B.  Parker  and  the  widow  of 
Daniel  Manning,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  Cleve 
land's  second  Cabinet,  also  gave  us  the  pleasure  of  a  visit. 
And  a  little  later  Cleveland  H.  Dodge  arrived  in  his  yacht. 
He  was  heartily  welcomed  by  all  the  missionaries,  for  he 
was  prominently  connected  with  Robert  College  and  was 
chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  College  at  Beirut. 
In  his  party  was  Mrs.  Grover  Cleveland. 

After  we  had  moved  to  our  summer  quarters  at  Yeni- 
keui,  Kermit  Roosevelt  and  his  classmate,  John  Heard, 
came  to  spend  about  ten  days  with  us.  My  son  Roger, 
then  a  student  at  Princeton,  was  spending  his  vacation 
with  us  and  was  glad  to  have  the  company  of  two  young 
men  of  about  his  own  age. 

At  this  time  we  saw  much  of  Sir  William  Willcocks,  the 
eminent  British  engineer,  who  had  just  returned  from 
Bagdad  where  he  was  employed  by  the  Turkish  Govern 
ment  in  the  construction  and  supervision  of  irrigation 
works  in  Mesopotamia.  It  was  he  who  projected  and 
designed  the  Assuan  Dam  across  the  Nile.  He  told  me  he 
was  born  to  his  work,  as  his  father,  Captain  W.  Willcocks, 
was  engaged  in  it  in  India. 


300       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

In  June  I  wrote  the  Department  of  State  requesting 
a  leave  of  absence  toward  the  end  of  September  or 
beginning  of  October,  with  permission  to  return  home. 
In  answer  I  received  a  cable  from  the  assistant  sec 
retary  to  the  effect  that  the  railway  concessions  of 
the  Ottoman  American  Development  Company  were 
to  come  up  in  Parliament  in  November,  and  asking  if 
it  would  be  convenient  for  me  to  take  my  leave  earlier 
so  as  to  be  back  in  Turkey  by  November  1st.  I  replied 
in  a  confidential  letter  that  it  was  my  intention,  upon  my 
return  to  America,  to  confer  with  the  President  and  the 
Secretary  of  State  regarding  my  release  from  this  post, 
in  accordance  with  my  understanding  when  I  accepted 
the  appointment.  I  decided  to  wait  until  the  arrival  of 
the  new  secretary  of  the  embassy,  Mr.  Hoffman  Philip, 
and  before  leaving  I  took  pains  to  make  him  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  work  of  the  embassy  so  that  no  ground 
might  be  lost  pending  my  resignation. 

On  leaving  Constantinople  we  desired  a  few  days'  rest 
in  the  mountains.  At  the  suggestion,  therefore,  of  our 
minister  to  Roumania,  J.  Ridgely  Carter,  we  planned  to 
go  to  Sinaia,  the  Roumanian  summer  capital,  which  he 
thought  we  should  find  agreeable  in  every  way,  so  on 
September  3d  we  left  Turkey  for  Roumania. 

Sinaia  we  found  not  only  very  beautiful,  but  most 
enjoyable.  We  were  invited  to  the  Palace  a  number  of 
times.  The  Court  being  in  mourning,  all  entertaining 
was  informal  and  more  intimate.  The  King  reminded  me 
of  the  late  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman  in  general  ap 
pearance.  The  Queen,  known  to  all  the  world  as  "  Carmen 
Sylva,"  was  a  striking  personality,  tall,  rather  heavily 
built,  with  silver  gray  hair  and  a  high  complexion,  strong, 
mobile  features,  and  a  very  spiritual  expression.  She 


KING  AND  QUEEN  OF  ROUMANIA       SOI 

spoke  English,  French,  and  German  with  equal  fluency, 
so  that  it  was  difficult  to  tell  which  was  the  most  natural 
to  her. 

The  Queen  told  me  how  she  happened  to  choose  Carmen 
Sylva  for  a  pen-name:  The  woods  always  appealed  to 
her;  their  stillness  and  beauty  inspired  her.  When  she 
began  to  publish  her  work,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  she 
asked  a  certain  German  writer  to  tell  her  the  Latin  word 
for  "woods";  that  gave  her  "sylva."  Next  she  asked 
the  Latin  word  for  "bird,"  but  that  did  not  suit  her. 
Then  the  word  for  "song"  suggested  itself,  "carmen." 
The  combination  appealed  to  her  poetic  sense,  and  she 
adopted  it. 

At  luncheon  one  day  our  conversation  drifted  to  poetry 
and  American  poets.  The  Queen  seemed  to  know  all  our 
bards,  even  the  minor  ones,  several  of  whom  I  had  not 
heard  of  myself.  I  happened  to  quote,  as  near  as  I  could 
recall  it,  a  couplet  from  a  little  poem  that  Joaquin  Miller 
wrote  when  Peter  Cooper  died: 

All  one  can  hold  in  his  cold  right  hand 
Is  what  he  has  given  away. 

She  was  most  enthusiastic  about  that  sentiment  and  said 
she  considered  it  real  poetry.  She  repeated  it  several 
times  so  as  to  remember  it. 

"Whenever  any  one  gives  me  a  beautiful  thought,  I 
never  forget  him,"  she  said,  turning  to  me  in  her  unaf 
fected  manner.  I  appreciated  her  delicate  compliment. 

After  luncheon  she  invited  me  to  the  floor  above  to  see 
her  study.  She  explained  that  she  did  her  best  work  in  a 
little  cell-like  room  in  the  monastery  below  the  hill  near 
the  Palace,  which  we  had  visited  the  day  before.  There 
she  was  most  free  from  disturbance  of  any  kind.  Her 
study  in  the  Palace  was  comfortable  and  attractively 
furnished;  not  large,  but  cozy.  Looking  out  of  the  win- 


302       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

dows,  one  saw  the  terraced  Italian  gardens  and  the 
wooded  peaks  of  the  Carpathian  Mountains  beyond. 
The  low  bookcases  which  lined  the  four  walls  contained 
English,  French,  and  German  books  in  exquisite  bind 
ings.  At  her  desk  were  three  typewriters,  respectively 
from  England,  France,  and  Germany,  for  use  in  writing 
the  languages  of  those  countries.  She  used  them  herself, 
according  to  the  language  in  which  the  inspiration  of  the 
moment  had  come.  She  presented  me  with  a  volume  of 
poems  and  one  of  essays,  both  in  German,  "Meine  Ruhe  " 
and  "Mein  Penatenwinkel,"  which  she  inscribed  for  me. 

We  went  through  the  Palace  that  afternoon.  It  is 
modern  and  very  beautiful,  furnished  in  excellent  taste, 
and  not  cold  and  uncomfortable,  sacrificed  to  grandeur, 
as  most  palaces  seem  to  be.  Then  the  King  and  Queen 
invited  us  to  return  the  next  morning  at  eleven,  to  a  mu- 
sicale  and  luncheon. 

Next  day  after  luncheon  the  King  left  the  other  guests 
and  took  me  into  a  small  adjoining  room  where  we  smoked 
and  had  coffee.  Knowing  that  I  had  been  Secretary  of 
Commerce  and  Labor,  he  led  the  conversation  to  eco 
nomic  questions,  which  he  said  interested  him  most.  He 
expressed  surprise  that  we  had  not  come  to  state  owner 
ship  of  railways,  which  he  believed  was  the  only  way  to 
regulate  them.  I  explained  our  method  of  regulating 
them,  but  he  thought  that  method  more  socialistic  and 
arbitrary  than  in  his  own  country.  We  talked  of  the 
Roosevelt  policies  and  their  general  aim  at  social  justice. 
He  said  he  regretted  very  much  that  Roosevelt  had  not 
visited  Roumania,  for  he  had  the  greatest  admiration  for 
him,  both  as  man  and  as  statesman. 

Our  conversation  ran  on  to  the  Jewish  question,  and 
the  King  spoke  most  sympathetically  of  the  Jews,  saying 
that  they  were  patriotic  subjects  and  good  soldiers,  that 


KING  AND  QUEEN  OF  ROUMANIA      303 

there  was  no  religious  prejudice  against  them,  and  that 
the  Jewish  question  in  Roumania  was  purely  economic. 
The  Jews  who  came  in  from  Russia  and  Poland  con 
stituted  separate  communities  in  the  country,  with  for 
eign  methods  of  living,  foreign  language,  and  foreign 
views.  I  told  him  that  in  the  most  enlightened  countries 
there  was  an  absence  of  the  Jewish  problem  because  no 
problem  was  created  by  treating  the  Jews  as  separate 
groups  with  restricted  rights.  He  saw  that  point,  but 
explained  that  Roumania  was  right  next  to  Russia  where 
the  Jews  were  most  oppressed.  If,  therefore,  Roumania 
accorded  them  full  rights,  there  would  be  a  flood  of  im 
migration  much  larger  than  they  were  then  getting.  I 
pointed  out  that  it  would  be  much  better  to  restrict  im 
migration  than  to  restrict  the  natural  rights  of  the  Jews 
of  Roumania.  That  thought  impressed  him,  and  he  said 
he  realized  that,  under  the  system  they  then  had,  much 
injustice  was  done  which  brought  disgrace  to  the  king 
dom,  but  he  hoped  a  remedy  would  be  worked  out. 

We  spoke  of  the  United  States  Postal  Savings  legisla 
tion,  of  which  he  requested  an  outline,  and  thought  it 
could  be  adopted  by  Roumania  with  advantage. 

A  few  days  later  we  again  lunched  with  the  King  and 
Queen.  The  Queen  mentioned  the  bit  of  poetry  I  had 
given  her  a  few  days  before  and  asked  whether  I  could 
give  her  another.  Something  had  been  said  about  Hay's 
Roumanian  note  that  brought  to  mind  the  last  stanza  of 
Hay's  hymn: 

Wherever  man  oppresses  man, 

Beneath  the  setting  sun, 
O  Lord,  be  there,  thine  arm  make  bare, 

Thy  righteous  will  be  done. 

The  Queen  admired  these  lines  and  begged  me  to  write 
them  out,  which  I  did  on  the  back  of  one  of  my  visiting- 


304       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

cards.  She  put  the  card  in  her  reticule,  saying  that  the 
lines  would  inspire  a  poem  some  day,  and  that  she  would 
then  send  it  to  me. 

Referring  to  her  work  generally,  she  spoke  of  her 
indebtedness  to  Professor  Jacob  Bernays,  the  distin 
guished  Jewish  scholar,  who  was  a  frequent  and  welcome 
visitor  at  the  home  of  her  parents.  She  said  he  was  the 
most  modest  and  intellectual  person  she  had  ever  known, 
and  his  conversations  and  teachings  had  greatly  influ 
enced  her  intellectual  and  spiritual  life.  She  asked  me  to 
read  her  estimate  of  this  wonderful  man  in  her  book  of 
essays  that  she  had  given  me.  I  have  since  read  it  several 
times,  and  it  would  surprise  many  to  read  such  a  eulogy 
and  vindication  of  the  Jews  and  Judaism  by  the  Queen 
of  a  country  where  the  Jews  were  so  sorely  oppressed  by 
drastic  discrimination. 

Before  we  left  Sinaia,  the  Queen  sent  me  a  large  photo 
graph  of  herself,  inscribed:  "Never  mind  deep  waters, 
there  are  pearls  to  be  found.  Elizabeth.  Sinaia,  Sep 
tember,  1910." 

In  Vienna,  we  were  guests  at  a  tea  given  by  Dr.  Sig- 
mund  Miinz,  of  "Die  Neue  Freie  Presse."  Among  those 
present  was  Baroness  Bertha  von  Suttner,  the  great  peace 
advocate  and  authoress  of  "Down  With  Your  Arms," 
who  had  received  the  Nobel  Peace  Prize  the  previous 
year.  I  had  met  her  before  in  the  United  States,  where 
we  spoke  from  the  same  platform  during  the  sessions 
of  the  Interparliamentary  Union  and  the  International 
Peace  Societies. 

Next  we  went  to  London,  where  we  enjoyed  the  pleas 
ant  hospitalities  of  our  ambassador,  Whitelaw  Reid.  At 
one  of  the  luncheons  at  the  embassy  I  was  pleased  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Luis  M.  Drago,  the  Argentine 
international  jurist  and  author  of  the  Drago  Doctrine, 


IN  VIENNA  AND  LONDON  305 

who  had  just  returned  from  the  Anglo-American  Fish 
eries  Arbitration  at  The  Hague. 

We  dined  one  evening  with  the  Right  Honorable  Sir 
Ernest  Cassel  at  his  charming  home,  Brooke  House,  and 
afterward  went  with  him  to  the  theater.  Sir  Ernest,  one 
of  England's  leading  financiers,  was  constantly  being 
referred  to  in  the  press  in  connection  with  the  negotia 
tions  pending  in  Paris  for  a  new  loan  to  the  Turks.  He 
told  us  that  these  international  financial  negotiations, 
because  of  their  international  importance,  did  not  appeal 
to  him,  for  he  had  no  ambition  to  be  in  the  limelight  or 
to  become  a  conspicuous  international  personage.  He 
preferred  quiet  and  obscurity,  for  constant  publicity  dis 
turbed  his  peace  of  mind.  This  attitude  was  not  one  of 
assumed  modesty;  he  really  said  what  he  meant  and  felt. 

On  another  evening  we  dined  with  Postmaster-General 
Herbert  Samuel  and  his  wife.  Mr.  Samuel  was  only 
thirty-nine  years  old  and  gave  every  promise  of  the  dis 
tinction  which  he  has  since  attained  in  the  service  of  his 
country.  At  this  writing  he  is  British  High  Commissioner 
in  Palestine. 

Lord  Rothschild  had  written  me  to  call  on  him  when 
in  London;  and  I  went  to  the  banking  house  to  see  him. 
In  speaking  of  the  Triple  Entente  of  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Russia,  I  told  him  I  thought  that,  from  a 
British  point  of  view,  it  was  unwise.  He,  on  the  other 
hand,  regarded  it  as  good  because  it  offered  the  best 
security  for  peace.  A  few  days  thereafter  I  mentioned 
the  subject  to  his  brother,  Alfred.  The  latter  said  that 
he  and  his  brother  usually  agreed,  but  in  this  matter  they 
took  opposite  views.  Alfred  considered  it  a  great  mistake, 
from  the  point  of  view  of  civilization,  for  England  to  be 
aligned  with  Russia,  and  beyond  that  he  considered  it 
detrimental  to  the  relationship  between  England  and 


306       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Germany,  which  was  none  too  friendly.  In  the  light  of 
all  that  has  since  taken  place,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
how  the  international  alignment  of  1910  was  reflected  in 
the  minds  of  these  big  international  financiers. 

On  September  8th  we  boarded  the  Lusitania  at  Liver 
pool,  reaching  New  York  on  the  13th.  My  brother  Isidor 
and  our  children  met  us,  and  we  were  made  to  appreciate 
the  real  truth  of  the  bull  that  "the  greatest  pleasure  in 
going  abroad  is  returning  home." 

Soon  afterward  I  went  to  Washington.  First  I  called 
at  the  State  Department  and  had  an  informal  talk  with 
Secretary  Knox.  I  told  him  I  did  not  wish  to  return  to 
Turkey.  The  important  negotiations  had  been  brought 
to  a  favorable  conclusion,  and  I  felt  that  I  had  spent 
enough  of  my  time  there.  He  referred  to  the  understand 
ing  with  which  I  had  accepted  the  post,  that  when  I 
desired  to  be  relieved,  another  post  that  might  be  avail 
able  and  acceptable  to  me  would  be  tendered  me.  How 
ever,  I  purposely  did  not  comment  on  this  understanding. 
I  simply  said  that  I  did  not  wish  to  cause  the  Adminis 
tration  any  embarrassment,  and  was  content  to  stay  at 
home.  He  said  he  would  have  a  talk  with  the  President 
and  confer  with  me  later. 

When  I  called  on  the  President,  I  told  him  that  since 
all  the  questions  for  which  I  went  to  Turkey  had  been  ad 
justed,  I  did  not  wish  to  return.  Subsequently  I  received 
a  very  cordial  and  complimentary  letter  from  him,  but, 
as  it  contained  no  intimation  of  his  earlier  promise  to 
transfer  me  to  a  post  more  to  my  liking,  I  did  not  refer  to 
it.  The  rift  between  the  Roosevelt  policies  and  the  Taft 
Administration  had  by  this  time  grown  considerably, 
and  I  was  known  to  be  in  thorough  accord  with  Roosevelt 
and  his  policies. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  PROGRESSIVES 

The  Progressive  spirit  is  kindled  and  shaped  into  a  cause  —  My  speech  at 
the  banquet  of  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  1910  —  Roosevelt's 
hostility  to  boss  rule  —  Liberals  impatient  with  Taft  Administration  — 
Governors  demand  Roosevelt  —  He  advocates  recall  of  judicial  decisions  — 
This  stand  believed  to  have  caused  his  defeat  —  New  York  State  Progressive 
Convention  is  deadlocked  —  "Suspender  Jack"  nominates  me  for  Governor 
and  stampedes  convention  —  I  decline  to  consider  Republican  nomination  — 
Sulzer's  "non- Jewish  but  pro- Jewish"  slogan  —  I  stump  the  State  —  Bain- 
bridge  Colby  "  impersonates "  me  —  Roosevelt,  shot  by  a  lunatic,  heroically 
addresses  Milwaukee  mass  meeting — I  am  needed  in  national  campaign  — 
The  dramatic  Roosevelt  speech  in  Madison  Square  Garden  —  His  tribute 
to  me  —  Election  returns  —  Progressives  poorly  organized  —  Their  cause  a 
crusade. 

IN  the  torrential  flood  of  American  politics,  two  main 
currents  are  continuously  perceptible.  There  are,  of 
course,  innumerable  permanent  and  temporary  cross 
currents,  eddies,  and  other  variations,  but  the  two  main 
currents  are  ever  present.  One  may  be  generally  de 
scribed  as  professional,  mechanical,  and  ruled  by  the 
accomplished  and  consummate  selfishness  of  invisible 
forces.  The  other,  while  more  genuine  in  spirit,  is  often 
amateurish  in  effort;  it  is  more  spontaneous;  it  is  kindled 
by  emotions  of  revolt;  it  sees  mankind  not  as  masses  to  be 
exploited,  and  profited  by,  but  as  individuals  to  be  set 
freer  to  express  themselves  socially  and  economically.  It 
strives  to  restate  the  better  aspirations  of  men  generally, 
and  to  mitigate  some  of  the  pressure  that  civilization 
imposes  upon  them. 

It  is  not  the  province  of  the  historian  to  moralize.  It 
is  his  business  to  trace  the  changing  currents  of  human 
thought  and  to  produce  accurate  pictures  of  men  in 
action.  And  so,  in  touching  on  the  Progressives,  I  shall 


308       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

endeavor  to  give  some  indication  of  the  mental  processes 
that  shaped  their  cause,  and  to  depict  some  of  'the 
dramatic  scenes  that  carried  their  cause  into  action. 
Many  of  these  scenes  I  was  able  to  observe  closely.  In 
a  sense,  I  may  have  figured  more  definitely  than  I  real 
ized  at  the  time,  in  kindling  their  cause  into  smoke  and 
fiame. 

On  November  17,  1910,  the  New  York  Chamber  of 
Commerce  held  its  one  hundred  and  forty-second  annual 
banquet  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel.  The  speakers 
were  Senator  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts; 
Governor  Horace  White,  of  New  York;  Mayor  William 
J.  Gaynor,  of  New  York  City;  and  myself.  The  president 
of  the  Chamber,  the  late  A.  Barton  Hepburn,  presided. 
My  subject  was  "American  Prestige,"  and  I  could  not 
refrain  from  referring  to  the  great  extent  to  which  Ameri 
can  influence  and  prestige  had  been  advanced  by  Roose 
velt,  both  as  President  and  during  his  tour  through 
Europe.  There  was  instant  and  prolonged  applause  at 
the  mention  of  Roosevelt's  name,  clearly  showing  that 
his  political  influence  was  not  dead,  contrary  to  the  ideas 
of  many  who  thought  so  because  the  election  of  a  few 
days  before  had  shown  sweeping  Democratic  gains  and 
the  defeat  of  Roosevelt's  candidate  for  Governor,  Henry 
L.  Stimson.  When  the  banquet  was  over,  Senator  Lodge 
said  to  me  that  if  the  political  opponents  of  Roosevelt 
could  have  seen  the  enthusiasm  with  which  his  name  was 
applauded,  they  would  realize  that  even  in  New  York  he 
was  as  much  alive  as  ever. 

When  I  had  met  Roosevelt  in  Cairo  on  his  way  back 
from  Africa,  we  had  talked  frequently  about  politics  at 
home.  It  was  clear  to  me  from  his  conversation  that  he 
did  not  propose  to  be  enticed  or  forced  into  accepting  any 
nomination,  although  there  was  talk,  yes,  I  may  say  a 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  REPUBLICANS       309 

demand,  that  he  reenter  public  life  as  either  Governor  of 
New  York  or  United  States  Senator. 

Roosevelt  was  so  loyal  a  Republican  that  his  opponents 
constantly  chided  him  for  going  along  with  the  bosses, 
like  Senator  Platt,  for  instance,  and  at  the  same  time 
advocating  reforms.  He  used  to  reply  that  he  did  and 
would  continue  to  cooperate  with  the  bosses  so  long  as 
they  went  his  way.  His  aim  from  the  time  he  entered 
public  life  as  a  member  of  the  New  York  State  Assembly 
was  to  make  the  party  always  more  responsive  to  its 
highest  ideals;  and  from  the  beginning  he  worked  against 
the  "invisible  powers"  or  boss  rule.  By  word  and  deed 
all  through  his  life  he  showed  an  independence  and  moral 
courage  that  careless  observers  might  often  have  mistaken 
for  headlong  impetuosity.  No  one  could  know  him  with 
out  recognizing  that  he  was  broad-minded,  liberal,  and 
inherently  progressive. 

When  he  arrived  home  from  abroad  in  June,  1910,  he 
found  the  Republican  Party  disrupted.  The  dissatisfac 
tion  and  impatience  of  the  liberals  was  distinctly  evident. 
By  1912  Taft  had  allowed  himself  to  become  so  thor 
oughly  identified  with  the  reactionaries  that  the  large 
independent  element  had  not  only  become  unenthusias- 
tic,  but  decidedly  hostile  to  the  Administration.  In  his 
Winona  speech  President  Taft  had  ranked  himself  on  the 
side  of  those  leaders  in  the  party  who  opposed  real  tariff 
reform.  In  his  famous  Norton  letter  he  had  even  gone  so 
far  as  to  imply,  if  not  to  expressly  admit,  that  federal 
Patronage  had  been  used  against  the  Progressives  in 
Congress. 

The  Progressive  element  both  in  and  out  of  Congress 
was  therefore  casting  about  for  a  candidate  who  repre 
sented  the  liberal  wing  of  the  party,  for  nomination  at  the 
National  Republican  Convention  at  Chicago  in  June. 


310       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Roosevelt's  office  at  "The  Outlook"  was  daily  crowded 
with  liberal  leaders  who  had  come  to  consult  with  him 
and  to  urge  him  to  "throw  his  hat  in  the  ring,"  to  use  one 
of  Roosevelt's  own  picturesque  expressions.  This  demand 
grew  and  spread  until  finally  came  the  following  appeal 
from  the  Governors  of  the  States  of  Kansas,  Michigan, 
Missouri,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire,  West  Virginia,  and 
Wyoming: 

We  feel  that  you  will  be  unresponsive  to  a  plain  public  duty 
if  you  decline  to  accept  the  nomination  coming  as  the  voluntary 
expression  of  the  wishes  of  a  majority  of  the  Republican  voters 
of  the  United  States  through  the  action  of  their  delegates  in  the 
next  National  Convention. 

To  this  message  Roosevelt  replied: 

One  of  the  chief  principles  for  which  I  have  stood  and  for 
which  I  now  stand,  and  which  I  have  always  endeavoured  and 
always  shall  endeavour  to  reduce  to  action,  is  the  genuine  rule 
of  the  people;  and,  therefore,  I  hope  that  so  far  as  possible  the 
people  may  be  given  the  chance,  through  direct  primaries,  to 
express  their  preference  as  to  who  shall  be  the  nominee  of  the 
Republican  Presidential  Convention. 

During  this  period  I  called  on  Roosevelt  one  day  at  the 
offices  of  "The  Outlook,"  and  he  handed  me  the  galley- 
proof  of  a  speech  he  was  to  make  before  the  Constitu 
tional  Convention  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  called  it  "The 
Charter  of  Democracy."  His  room  was  full  of  callers,  so 
I  went  into  Dr.  Abbott's  office  and  there  carefully  read 
the  speech.  In  it  Roosevelt  advocated,  among  other 
reforms  such  as  the  short  ballot  and  the  initiative  and 
referendum,  the  recall  of  judicial  decisions.  When  I  came 
to  that  subject  I  confess  I  was  shocked,  and  so  expressed 
myself  to  one  of  the  editors  of  "The  Outlook";  as  I 
remember  it,  it  was  Dr.  Abbott  himself.  Compelled  to 
keep  another  appointment,  I  left  the  office  when  I  had 


RECALL  OF  JUDICIAL  DECISIONS       311 

finished  reading  the  speech,  saying  that  I  should  re 
turn  later. 

Upon  my  return  I  met  Roosevelt  just  as  he  was  going 
out  to  keep  an  engagement. 

"I  hear  you  don't  like  my  speech,"  he  said  to  me. 

"I  like  your  speech;  I  think  it  is  fine;  all  but  that  por 
tion  of  it  which  refers  to  the  recall  of  judicial  decisions," 
I  answered.  I  started  to  give  my  reasons,  but  seeing  that 
he  was  pressed  for  time,  I  said:  "I  should  like  to  discuss 
that  matter  with  you,  provided  your  mind  is  open  on  the 
subject."  To  my  great  surprise  he  said  that  he  had 
thought  the  subject  over  very  carefully,  and  frankly  told 
me  that  he  had  come  to  a  definite  decision  on  it. 

That  was  so  unlike  the  Roosevelt  I  knew  in  the  many 
discussions  I  had  had  with  him,  when  invariably  I  found 
his  mind  responsive,  that  I  was  quite  disappointed  and 
somewhat  taken  back.  But  I  did  not  want  him  to  feel 
that  I  had  joined  the  ranks  of  the  many  who  had  parted 
political  company  with  him  because  he  had  made  it 
known  that  he  would  accept  another  nomination  for 
President,  and  so,  on  reaching  my  office,  I  wrote  him  a 
letter,  briefly  explaining  why  I  objected  to  his  statements 
regarding  the  recall  of  judicial  decisions.  I  assured  him 
that  on  that  account  I  did  not  part  from  him  politically, 
for  after  all  I  agreed  with  him  more  than  with  any  other 
candidate  who  might  possibly  be  named. 

The  birth  and  development  of  the  Progressive  Party 
is,  of  course,  an  element  of  national  history  that  has  often 
been  detailed.  William  Draper  Lewis,  in  his  "Life  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt,"  and  Lawrence  F.  Abbott,  in  his 
"Impressions  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,"  both  give  clear 
accounts  of  it.  Roosevelt's  candidacy  and  defeat  have 
been  variously  analyzed,  but  I  believe  now,  as  I  believed 
in  1912,  that  but  for  this  unfortunate  statement  regard- 


312       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ing  judicial  decisions,  Roosevelt  would  have  been  re- 
elected  President  in  1912.  It  is  true  that  he  afterwards 
clarified  the  meaning  of  his  use  of  the  word  "recall"; 
that  its  application  was  limited  to  such  decisions  as  held 
legislative  acts  unconstitutional,  and  that  such  decisions 
might  at  the  following  election  be  submitted  to  popular 
vote,  in  accordance  with  the  method  employed  by  a 
State  for  the  adoption  of  its  constitution.  But  his  clari 
fication  never  overcame  the  effects  of  the  Columbus 
speech.  William  Draper  Lewis,  who  was  one  of  Roose 
velt's  closest  advisers  at  the  time,  says  in  his  biography: 

Looking  back  now  over  the  events  leading  up  to  the  Repub 
lican  National  Convention  of  1912,  it  would  appear  almost 
certain  that  had  he,  in  his  address  before  the  Ohio  Convention, 
either  refrained  from  making  the  proposal  or  had  he  called  it 
a  new  method  of  amending  the  constitution,  and  carefully 
explained  it  so  that  it  could  not  have  been  misunderstood,  it  is 
most  probable  that  he  would  have  been  nominated  at  Chicago, 
and  that  the  whole  course  of  the  recent  history  of  the  United 
States  would  have  been  other  than  it  has  been. 

Shortly  after  the  Columbus  speech,  Roosevelt  deliv 
ered,  on  March  20,  1912,  at  Carnegie  Hall,  New  York, 
what  was  in  many  respects  the  most  forceful  and  elo 
quent  address  I  ever  heard  him  make.  He  graphically 
described  his  dedication  to  his  ideals  of  democracy: 

Our  task  as  Americans  is  to  strive  for  social  and  industrial 
justice,  achieved  through  the  genuine  rule  of  the  people.  This 
is  our  end,  our  purpose.  The  methods  for  achieving  the  end  are 
merely  expedients,  to  be  finally  accepted  or  rejected  according 
as  actual  experience  shows  that  they  work  well  or  ill.  But  in 
our  hearts  we  must  have  this  lofty  purpose,  and  we  must  strive 
for  it  in  all  earnestness  and  sincerity,  or  our  work  will  come 
to  nothing.  In  order  to  succeed,  we  need  leaders  of  inspired 
idealism,  leaders  to  whom  are  granted  great  visions,  who  dream 
greatly  and  strive  to  make  their  dreams  come  true;  who  can 
kindle  the  people  with  the  fire  from  their  own  burning  souls. 


NATHAN,  OSCAR,  AND  ISIDOR  STRAUS 
1912 


PROGRESSIVE  CONVENTION  313 

The  leader  for  the  time  being,  whoever  he  may  be,  is  but  an 
instrument,  to  be  used  until  broken  and  then  to  be  cast  aside; 
and  if  he  is  worth  his  salt,  he  will  care  no  more  when  he  is  broken 
than  a  soldier  cares  when  he  is  sent  where  his  life  is  forfeit  in 
order  that  the  victory  may  be  won. 

If  on  this  new  continent  we  merely  build  another  country  of 
great  but  unjustly  divided  material  prosperity,  we  shall  have 
done  nothing;  and  we  shall  do  as  little  if  we  merely  set  the  greed 
of  envy  against  the  greed  of  arrogance,  and  thereby  destroy 
the  material  well-being  of  all  of  us.  To  turn  this  government 
into  government  by  plutocracy  or  government  by  a  mob  would 
be  to  repeat  on  a  larger  scale  the  lamentable  failures  of  the 
world  that  is  dead.  We  stand  against  all  tyranny,  by  the  few 
or  by  the  many.  We  stand  for  the  rule  of  the  many  in  the 
interest  of  all  of  us,  for  the  rule  of  the  many  in  the  spirit  of 
courage,  of  common  sense,  of  high  purpose,  above  all,  in  a  spirit 
of  kindly  justice  towards  every  man  and  every  woman. 

A  month  after  the  meeting  of  the  National  Convention 
of  the  Progressive  Party,  popularly  called  the  "Bull 
Moose  Convention,"  which  nominated  Theodore  Roose 
velt  for  President  and  Hiram  W.  Johnson  for  Vice- 
President,  the  New  York  State  Convention  of  the  Pro 
gressive  Party  met  at  Syracuse,  in  the  Arena.  The  con 
vention  met  on  September  5th. 

All  during  the  first  day  and  night,  amid  lively  dis 
cussion  as  to  the  selection  of  candidates  for  Governor, 
committees  urged  me  for  permission  to  present  my  name 
as  a  candidate;  but  I  steadfastly  declined,  since  the  gov 
ernorship,  being  so  largely  a  political  office,  did  not  appeal 
to  me.  I  was  neither  by  training  nor  by  temperament  a 
politician,  although  I  had  taken  active  part  in  campaigns 
for  many  years,  both  local  and  national.  The  next  day  I 
was  asked  to  take  the  permanent  chairmanship  of  the 
convention.  This  I  was  willing  and  glad  to  do;  I  wanted 
to  be  of  service  to  the  party;  also  it  was  a  foregone  con 
clusion  that  acceptance  of  the  chairmanship  would  pre- 


314       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

elude  my  being  considered  a  candidate  for  the  nomina 
tion  for  Governor. 

The  Arena  was  filled  with  about  seven  thousand  dele 
gates  and  members  of  the  new  Progressive  Party.  The 
air  was  surcharged  with  the  spirit  of  the  new  movement 
—  the  genuine  enthusiasm  of  men  and  women  of  char 
acter  and  standing  from  every  county  in  the  State,  and 
among  them  a  great  many  ministers,  professors,  re 
formers,  and  leaders  of  benevolent  and  charitable  move 
ments.  There  was  a  conspicuous  absence  of  the  profes 
sional  politician.  Indeed,  that  convention  had  more  the 
character  of  a  town  meeting  than  of  a  cut-and-dried  po 
litical  convention.  Instead  of  having  decisions  made  for 
them,  this  great  body  of  enthusiasts  were  called  upon  to 
make  their  own.  The  candidates  had  not  even  been 
agreed  upon. 

On  September  6th  I  took  my  gavel  in  hand  and  called 
the  meeting  to  order.  The  first  business  before  the  con 
vention  was  the  nomination  of  a  candidate  for  Governor. 
The  secretary  called  the  counties  of  the  State  in  alpha 
betical  order,  and  the  chairman  of  each  delegation  made 
his  nomination.  The  outstanding  candidates  for  nomina 
tion  were  William  H.  Hotchkiss,  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Progressive  Party  and  chairman  of  the  National 
Committee,  and  William  A.  Prendergast,  comptroller  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  who  had  made  the  speech  nominat 
ing  Roosevelt  for  President  at  the  Chicago  Convention. 
A  deadlock  between  these  two  candidates  ensued. 

After  Yates  County  had  been  heard  from,  a  tall,  gaunt 
young  man  towered  to  his  feet  and  asked  to  be  heard;  he 
was  from  the  Fifteenth  Manhattan  District,  and  he  had 
a  nomination  to  make.  It  was  not  quite  in  order,  though 
the  spirit  of  the  convention  was  to  give  each  man  a 
chance.  While  I  was  hesitating  about  recognizing  him, 


NOMINATED  FOR  GOVERNOR         315 

there  seemed  to  be  a  general  desire  that  he  be  given  an 
opportunity  to  speak,  so  I  gave  him  five  minutes. 

He  looked  fantastic  as  he  strode  to  the  platform  and 
faced  the  audience.  His  manner  was  somewhat  bizarre. 
He  burst  forth  in  dramatic  fashion  as  follows: 

Fellow  citizens,  ladies  and  gentlemen:  I  have  just  come  down 
from  Vermont.  I  ask  you  people  at  this  convention  to  make 
no  mistake. 

We  want  to  put  a  man  up  for  Governor  that  no  man  will  be 
afraid  to  cast  his  vote  for,  against  whom  there  can  be  no  charge 
leveled  of  misconduct  of  any  kind,  one  who  can  sweep  the 
State  from  Montauk  Point  to  Lake  Erie,  and  carry  every  man 
of  every  race,  religion,  and  creed;  a  man  whose  name  is  known 
throughout  the  civilized  world;  a  man  the  mention  of  whose 
name  brings  a  tear  of  sympathy  to  the  eye  of  almost  every  man 
and  woman  in  the  civilized  land;  a  man  whose  name,  wherever 
men  are  found  with  red  blood  in  their  veins,  irrespective  of 
race,  religion,  and  creed,  will  be  carried  thundering  throughout 
the  State  to  victory. 

There  is  no  chance  for  defeat  with  this  man  at  the  head  of  the 
ticket  — 

"Who  is  your  candidate?"  cried  impatient  listeners. 
"What's  his  name?" 
"  Name  your  candidate ! " 

In  sudden  answer  to  these  cries  from  the  convention, 
the  speaker  exclaimed: 

I  nominate  the  illustrious  and  honorable  Oscar  S.  Straus. 

During  the  long,  terrific  applause  that  followed,  the 
delegate  stood  awkwardly  waiting  for  a  chance  to  finish. 
Finally  he  went  on: 

We  should  take  no  chances  in  this  fight.  I  could  not  say  one 
undeserved  word  if  I  used  the  entire  dictionary  in  praise  of 
the  other  nominees,  Mr.  Hotchkiss  and  Mr.  Prendergast;  but, 
gentlemen,  Mr.  Prendergast  or  Mr.  Hotchkiss  would  cause 
friction  in  the  State.  We  want  no  friction  in  this  election.  We 
want  success  and  victory. 


316       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Gentlemen,  there  is  not  a  newspaper  editor  in  the  State  of 
New  York  that  would  any  more  assassinate  the  character  of 
Oscar  S.  Straus  than  he  would  assassinate  the  character  of  his 
own  mother. 

Gentlemen,  remember!  Remember  that  Rome  was  saved  by 
the  cackle  of  geese.  I  have  no  political  prestige,  but  I  warn 
and  charge  you,  put  up  a  man  for  candidate  for  governor  who 
cannot  and  will  not  be  defeated. 

Gentlemen,  gentlemen,  heed  me!  Make  no  mistake  about 
Oscar  S.  Straus.  You  will  make  no  mistake  in  putting  him  up  as 
your  candidate,  and  you  will  capture  victory  and  success.  No 
man  has  had  better  distinction  at  home  and  abroad  than  Mr. 
Straus.  I  ask  you  to  vote  for  him. 

The  moment  he  finished,  a  stampede  started.  The  en 
tire  hall  assumed  the  aspect  of  a  good-natured  bedlam. 
There  was  cheering  and  applause,  and  many  of  the  dele 
gates  began  marching  round  that  big  auditorium,  bran 
dishing  the  banners  of  their  counties,  singing  "The  Bat 
tle  Hymn  of  the  Republic"  and  "Onward,  Christian  Sol 
diers,"  and  breaking  out  in  the  end  with  "Straus!  Straus! 
We  want  Straus!" 

I  pounded  the  desk  with  the  gavel,  I  shook  my  head 
in  the  negative,  but  to  no  avail.  The  noise  lasted  fully 
twenty  minutes. 

The  picturesque  young  man  who  had  precipitated  this 
scene  was  John  G.  McGee,  known  among  his  colleagues 
as  "Suspender  Jack."  He  had  been  a  member  of  the 
mounted  police  of  New  York  City. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Hotchkiss  and  several  other  leaders 
came  to  the  platform  and  insisted  upon  my  accepting. 
They  even  brought  Mrs.  Straus  up  with  the  hope  of  get 
ting  her  to  exert  her  persuasive  powers.  There  was  no  al 
ternative;  I  had  to  accept. 

Mr.  Hotchkiss  announced  my  acceptance,  and  im 
mediately  former  Lieutenant-Governor  Timothy  L, 


A  STAMPEDED  CONVENTION  317 

Woodruff  announced  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Prendergast 
and  moved  to  make  the  nomination  unanimous  by  ac 
clamation.  That  produced  more  shouting  and  cheering, 
accompanied  by  much  applause  and  the  waving  of  ban 
ners.  It  was  a  touching  manifestation  and  an  unexpected 
honor.  I  made  a  brief  speech  of  acceptance,  during  which 
I  found  it  difficult  to  hide  the  effect  of  all  this  demonstra 
tion.  And  with  more  applause  and  cheering,  the  session 
closed  with  the  singing  of  "  The  Star-Spangled  Banner." 

The  next  morning  the  convention  named  for  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor  Frederick  M.  Davenport,  who  was  Pro 
fessor  of  Law  and  Politics  at  Hamilton  College  and  had 
made  an  admirable  record  in  the  State  Legislature.  The 
ticket  was  then  quickly  completed  and  the  convention 
closed. 

The  nominations  were  received  with  great  favor  all 
through  the  State  and  in  the  press.  Roosevelt  at  the  time 
was  in  the  Far  West  conducting  his  own  campaign,  and 
wrote  me  from  Spokane  as  follows: 

THE  SPOKANE 
SPOKANE,  WASHINGTON 

September  8,  1912 
DEAR  STRAUS: 

When  I  left  New  York  I  had  expected  Prendergast  to  be 
nominated  and  there  were  certain  reasons,  which  I  think  you 
know,  why  I  felt  that,  as  a  matter  of  principle,  his  nomination 
should  be  made. 

But  there  was  a  still  further  principle  involved,  and  that  was 
that  in  this  Convention  the  people  should  have  their  own  way; 
and,  upon  my  word,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  was  a  new 
illustration  of  the  fact  that  the  wisdom  of  all  of  us  is  better 
than  the  wisdom  of  any  of  us.  Having  in  view  the  effect,  not 
only  in  New  York  but  the  country  at  large,  I  think  that  your 
nomination  stands  second  only  to  that  of  Hiram  Johnson  as 
Vice-President,  from  the  standpoint  of  strengthening  the 
ticket.  If  the  only  result  of  the  next  election  were  to  place  you 


318       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

in  as  Governor  of  New  York,  I  should  be  inclined  to  think  that 
the  Progressive  Party  had  justified  itself. 

My  dear  fellow,  I  am  overjoyed;  I  congratulate  you  with  all 
my  heart.  Give  my  love  to  dear  Mrs.  Straus  and  to  Roger  and 
your  two  daughters  and  all  the  grandchildren. 

Ever  yours 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

A  few  days  thereafter  he  gave  out  the  following  inter 
view: 

Next  in  importance  to  the  nomination  of  the  Vice-President 
is  the  nomination  for  Governor  of  New  York.  And  it  seems  to 
me  that  Hiram  Johnson  and  Oscar  Straus  symbolize  what  this 
movement  stands  for.  One  is  an  ex-Republican,  the  other  an 
ex-Democrat;  they  both  stand  for  what  is  highest  in  American 
citizenship. 

Mr.  Straus  is  not  merely  a  high-minded  and  able  man,  a  man 
of  incorruptible  integrity  and  great  ability,  but  also  a  man  who 
has  kept  abreast  of  the  great  movement  from  which  sprang 
the  Progressive  Party.  He  is  eminently  fitted  to  be  one  of  the 
leaders  in  this  movement.  On  every  point  of  our  platform  he 
represents  an  intense  earnestness  of  conviction  for  all  the 
things  for  which  we  stand.  His  attitude  toward  business,  his 
attitude  toward  the  complicated,  and  the  vitally  important 
social  and  economic  problems  which  are  dealt  with  in  our  plank 
concerning  social  and  industrial  justice;  in  short,  his  whole  posi 
tion  on  governmental  matters  has  been  such  as  to  warrant  our 
saying  that  he  is  already  in  practice  applying  the  very  prin 
ciples  which  we  preach. 

New  York  State  has  a  right  to  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  in 
this  first  State  Convention  of  the  people  themselves  Mr. 
Straus's  nomination  was,  in  the  most  emphatic  sense,  a  nomina 
tion  by  the  people  themselves,  a  nomination  representing  the 
desire  of  the  people  to  have  the  very  best  man  take  the  office, 
although  that  man  was  himself  sincerely  desirous  to  escape 
having  to  take  it. 

I  have  known  Mr.  Straus  intimately  ever  since  I  was  Gov 
ernor  of  New  York.  When  he  was  in  my  Cabinet  I  leaned  much 
upon  him,  and  a  more  loyal  and  disinterested  friend  no  man 


ROOSEVELT'S  ENDORSEMENT  319 

could  have,  and,  what  is  more  important,  no  man  could  have 
a  more  loyal,  disinterested,  and  sanely  zealous  supporter.  As 
head  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  Mr.  Straus 
himself,  by  study  and  administration  of  the  law,  was  one  of 
those  who  reached  conclusions  as  to  the  needs  of  our  handling 
of  the  anti-trust  and  interstate  commerce  and  similar  laws, 
which  I  set  forth  in  message  after  message  to  Congress,  and 
which  were  substantially  embodied  in  the  Progressive  platform; 
and  in  his  attitude  toward  labor,  toward  immigration,  toward 
the  duty  both  of  public  and  private  employees,  he  foreshad 
owed  that  part  of  the  Progressive  platform  which  has  dealt 
with  these  same  matters. 

Moreover,  by  his  disinterestedness,  his  unselfish  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  good  government  and  of  sound  progressive  doc 
trine  for  economic  and  social  reform,  and  by  his  willingness 
personally  to  sacrifice  his  own  interests  to  those  of  the  cause  he 
espouses,  he  is,  I  am  happy  to  say,  typical  of  all  men  who  are 
in  the  new  movement. 

Exactly  as  it  is  a  real  sacrifice  for  Hiram  Johnson  to  accept 
the  nomination  for  Vice-President,  so  it  is  a  real  sacrifice  for 
Oscar  Straus  to  accept  the  nomination  for  Governor  of  New 
York.  Each  has  accepted  because  he  is  not  thinking  of  himself. 
He  is  thinking  of  his  duty  to  the  people  as  a  whole;  of  his  duty 
to  the  great  Nation  to  which  he  belongs.  Oscar  Straus's  nomi 
nation  is  not  only  a  most  fortunate  thing  for  the  New  York 
Progressives,  but  it  is  also  a  piece  of  real  good  fortune  for  the 
Progressive  movement  throughout  this  Nation. 

When  the  Republicans  had  their  convention  at  Sara 
toga  a  short  while  after  my  nomination  at  Syracuse, 
several  of  their  prominent  State  leaders  telegraphed  me 
to  inquire  whether  I  would  accept  the  Republican  nom 
ination.  They  feared  that  with  three  candidates  in  the 
field  the  State  would  go  Democratic.  One  of  my  managers 
favored  my  acceptance,  which  would  without  doubt  have 
meant  election.  But  my  chief  adviser,  Chairman  Hotch- 
kiss,  agreed  with  me  that  my  accepting  the  Republican 
nomination,  without  the  endorsement  by  the  Republicans 


320       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

of  the  Progressive  platform,  would  destroy  the  Progres 
sive  Party  in  the  State,  if  not  throughout  the  country. 
I  therefore  sent  an  immediate  reply  that  while  I  should 
welcome  the  support  of  any  group  or  party  that  chose  to 
give  it,  I  could  not  accept  a  nomination  that  did  not  mean 
an  endorsement  and  acceptance  of  the  platform  on  which 
I  stood.  On  hearing  of  this,  Roosevelt  telegraphed  me 
from  Memphis :  "  Three  cheers  for  you.  You  are  a  perfect 
trump  and  you  always  do  the  right  thing." 

The  Republican  candidate  was  Job  E.  Hedges,  a  bril 
liant  member  of  the  New  York  Bar.  The  Democrats 
nominated  William  Sulzer,  and  Tammany  Hall  sanc 
tioned  the  selection  because  he  was  considered  a  good 
opponent  who  would  attract  the  Jewish  vote.  But  our 
politicians  make  no  greater  mistake  than  to  believe  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  Jewish  group  vote.  Of  course,  a 
candidate  who  by  word  or  action  has  shown  prejudice 
against  or  hostility  toward  the  Jews  could  not  expect  their 
suffrage;  but  beyond  that  the  Jews  are  not  controllable 
as  a  group  at  the  polls.  However,  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  House,  Sulzer  had 
taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  abrogation  of  our  treaty 
with  Russia,  and  during  the  campaign  the  slogan,  "  non- 
Jewish  but  pro-Jewish,"  was  designed  to  bring  him  the 
support  of  the  mass  of  Jewish  voters  in  addition  to  the 
regular  Democratic  vote. 

On  the  whole  the  campaign  was  conducted  with  dignitj 
on  all  sides.  There  was  a  noticeable  absence  of  vilifica 
tion  of  candidates  and  general  mud-slinging  between  the 
camps,  as  is  too  often  the  case  in  keenly  contested  elec 
tions.  My  campaign  managers  arranged  for  me  to  make 
addresses  in  every  county  and  almost  every  city  through 
out  the  State.  I  had  a  special  car  in  which  traveled, 


AN  UNBOSSED  CANDIDATE  321 

besides  Mr.  Davenport,  my  wife  and  me,  and  several 
other  speakers,  a  dozen  or  more  reporters  from  the  lead 
ing  papers. 

I  made  my  first  speech  in  Getty  Square,  Yonkers,  and 
from  there  I  traveled  for  seven  weeks,  making  ten  to 
fifteen  speeches  every  day  except  Sundays,  including 
short  talks  at  stations  and  from  the  rear  platform  of  my 
car.  Sometimes  I  made  speeches  before  breakfast,  to 
crowds  that  had  gathered  at  the  station,  and  there  were 
always  two  or  three,  and  often  more,  formal  addresses  a 
day  in  some  public  hall,  to  which  I  would  be  escorted 
from  the  train  with  a  band  of  music,  and  sometimes  with 
a  fife  and  drum  corps,  invariably  playing  "Onward, 
Christian  Soldiers."  So  many  clergymen  took  part  in  the 
campaign  that  frequently  the  meetings  were  opened  with 
a  prayer.  Many  of  the  meetings  were  spontaneous,  em 
phasizing  the  crusading  spirit  which  was  so  characteristic 
of  the  campaign. 

One  of  my  slogans  was  that  I  was  the  "unbossed  candi 
date  of  the  unbossed  people."  One  day  up  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  State  I  was  speaking  on  a  raised  platform  in 
the  open,  and,  as  usual,  my  time  was  limited  by  the  train 
schedule.  A  member  of  the  committee  told  my  wife,  who 
was  sitting  behind  me,  that  the  train  would  leave  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  that  it  was  time  for  me  to  stop,  and  just 
as  I  got  to  the  middle  of  the  phrase,  "unbossed  candi 
date — "  she  pulled  my  coat-tail  as  a  signal  for  me  to  stop. 
At  that  moment  I  was  quite  evidently  not  the  "un 
bossed  candidate"  that  I  professed  to  be,  and  the  audi 
ence  laughed  and  cheered  with  amusement.  I  think  that 
bit  of  bossing,  however,  did  not  cost  me  any  votes. 

Mr.  Davenport  proved  himself  a  most  effective  cam 
paign  speaker.  Another  effective  orator  in  our  party  for 
a  short  time  was  Bainbridge  Colby,  who  discharged  with 


UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

great  distinction  the  important  duties  of  Secretary  of 
State  during  the  last  year  of  the  Wilson  Administration. 
At  Oneonta  and  at  one  or  two  other  places,  while  I  was 
taking  a  much-needed  rest,  the  crowds  had  gathered  and 
were  calling  for  me.  Mr.  Colby,  without  being  intro 
duced,  responded  for  me,  and  the  audiences  were  left  with 
the  impression  that  they  had  listened  to  me.  My  cause 
certainly  did  not  suffer  by  my  being  so  admirably  repre 
sented,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  advantageously  misrepre 
sented. 

Roosevelt  in  the  meantime  had  flung  himself  into  the 
campaign  with  all  the  force  of  his  tremendous  vigor  and 
energy,  and  gave  to  it  a  dynamic  impulse  that  grew  in 
intensity  as  he  progressed  through  the  country.  He  went 
out  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  returned  through  the  Southern 
States  to  New  York  City,  speaking  at  every  important 
center.  In  September  he  went  through  New  England. 
In  October  he  started  on  his  final  tour  through  the 
Middle  West,  and  it  was  while  on  this  trip  that  he  was 
shot  by  a  lunatic  just  as  he  was  leaving  his  hotel  to  make 
a  speech  in  the  Auditorium  in  Milwaukee.  The  incident, 
tragic  in  itself,  was  made  dramatic  by  his  heroism.  With 
the  bullet  in  his  breast  and  his  clothes  soaked  with  blood, 
disregarding  the  entreaties  of  his  companions,  he  went 
on  to  the  Auditorium  and  spoke  for  more  than  an  hour. 
To  him  nothing  counted  except  the  triumph  of  the  prin 
ciples  for  which  he  was  fighting. 

In  consequence  of  this  accident  the  national  managers 
had  me  leave  the  State  of  New  York  and  take  up  the 
national  campaign,  which  I  did  cheerfully.  No  one,  of 
course,  could  fill  Roosevelt's  engagements,  but  the  plan 
was  to  rescue  the  cause  so  far  as  possible,  and  I  spoke  in 
several  of  the  larger  cities  where  meetings  had  been 
scheduled  for  Roosevelt,  principally  Chicago,  Cincinnati, 


DRAMATIC  ROOSEVELT  SPEECH        323 

and  Cleveland.  My  intense  anxiety  regarding  the  condi 
tion  of  my  chief  during  this  time  was  greatly  relieved  by 
assuring  telegrams  from  Mrs.  Roosevelt  and  his  nephew, 
George  Emlen  Roosevelt,  who  were  both  at  his  side. 

Two  final  rallies  were  arranged  in  Madison  Square 
Garden,  New  York  —  one  on  Wednesday,  October  30th, 
for  the  national  ticket,  and  the  second  on  Friday,  Novem 
ber  1st,  for  the  State  ticket.  Roosevelt,  though  not  well, 
considered  himself  sufficiently  recovered  to  appear.  His 
physicians,  Doctors  Lambert  and  Brewer,  had  prescribed 
no  more  campaign  speeches,  in  fact,  did  not  want  him  to 
go  to  these  meetings;  but  he  brushed  aside  their  injunc 
tions  and  left  Oyster  Bay  for  Madison  Square. 

His  presence  at  the  national  rally  was  his  first  public 
appearance  since  the  shooting,  and  keyed-up  the  meeting 
to  a  high  dramatic  pitch.  Fully  eighteen  thousand  per 
sons  were  in  the  auditorium  and  a  few  thousand  more 
were  outside  clamoring  for  admission.  When  Roosevelt 
appeared  on  the  platform,  a  roar  of  applause  broke  loose 
and  continued  for  forty-five  minutes. 

Roosevelt's  speech,  characteristically,  was  confined  to 
a  plea  for  the  Progressive  cause  and  for  the  State  ticket; 
no  word  for  himself.  He  appeared  in  good  form  and  to 
possess  his  usual  vigor,  although  it  was  observed  that  he 
did  not  use  his  right  arm.  His  speech  was  earnest,  calm, 
and  exalted,  closing  with  what  he  called  his  political 
creed: 

I  am  glad  beyond  measure  that  I  am  one  of  the  many  who 
in  this  fight  have  stood  ready  to  spend  and  be  spent,  pledged 
to  fight  while  life  lasts  the  great  fight  for  righteousness  and  for 
brotherhood  and  for  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

At  the  rally  for  the  State  ticket  two  nights  later  the 
crowd  inside  the  Garden  was  as  large  as  at  the  national 


324       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

rally,  though  there  were  fewer  people  outside.  The  en 
thusiasm  was  at  the  same  high  pitch.  When  I  arose  to 
speak,  the  cheering  began  and  lasted  twenty-seven  min 
utes  before  it  could  be  checked.  Roosevelt  was  expected 
during  the  evening.  His  physicians  had  reminded  him 
when  he  started  from  home  that  he  had  promised  not  to 
speak  any  more  in  the  campaign,  to  which  he  humorously 
replied  that  he  had  promised  not  to  speak  for  himself, 
but  that  this  time  he  would  talk  for  Oscar  Straus  and 
Fred  Davenport  and  the  candidates  on  the  judiciary 
ticket! 

At  the  close  of  my  thirty-minute  address,  Roosevelt 
appeared.  The  crowd  went  wild,  and  stopped  cheering 
only  when  Mr.  Hotchkiss,  who  was  presiding,  besought 
them  to  stop  out  of  consideration  for  the  Colonel.  Roose 
velt  spoke  for  an  hour  and  held  that  vast  audience  in 
rapt  attention.  He  devoted  the  first  half  of  his  speech  to 
outlining  the  Progressive  cause,  its  meaning  and  purpose, 
and  the  second  half  to  advocating  the  State  ticket.  He 
referred  to  my  public  career  in  terms  of  unmeasured 
praise,  beginning  with  my  first  mission  to  Turkey.  He 
told  the  crowd  that  everywhere  he  spoke,  from  the  Great 
Lakes  to  the  Gulf  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
he  had  "found  that  the  name  of  Oscar  Straus  was  a  name 
with  which  to  conjure,"  and  that  it  "helped  the  Pro 
gressive  cause  in  California  and  in  New  Mexico,  in  Il 
linois  and  in  Kansas,  that  we  here  in  New  York  had 
named  such 'a  man  as  our  candidate  for  Governor."  He 
then  gave  accounts  of  the  personal  services  and  qualifica 
tions  of  the  other  members  of  the  ticket,  and  with  this 
meeting  the  Progressive  campaign  of  1912  closed  with  a 
blaze  of  unforgettable  enthusiasm. 

On  election  day  I  received  the  following  letter  from 
Roosevelt: 


A  POLITICAL  CRUSADE  325 

OYSTER  BAT 
November  5,  1912 
DEAR  OSCAR: 

I  count  myself  fortunate  in  having  run  upon  the  same  ticket 
with  you  and  in  having  had  the  privilege  of  supporting  you. 
You  are  the  kind  of  American  who  makes  one  proud  of  being 
an  American;  and  I  wish  also  to  say  that  I  feel  just  the  same 
way  about  all  your  family,  your  dear  wife,  your  two  daughters 
and  son.  It  is  just  such  a  family,  and  just  such  a  family  life, 
as  I  like  to  think  of  as  typical  of  our  citizenship  at  its  best. 
With  affectionate  regard  and  esteem 

Faithfully  yours 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 


The  Progressives,  as  might  have  been  expected,  had 
been  poorly  organized.  The  time  had  been  too  short  for 
intensive  development  of  our  forces.  We  had  no  machine, 
and  in  a  number  of  the  counties  there  was  scarcely  a 
skeleton  of  an  organization.  It  was,  in  fact,  not  a  party 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word  at  all,  but  rather  a 
crusade,  and  what  we  lacked  in  organization  we  made 
up  by  an  abundance  of  spontaneous  ardor.  We  did  not 
really  expect  victory,  although  Roosevelt  several  times 
said  that  while  he  knew  he  would  be  defeated,  he  thought 
I  would  be  elected.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  believe  I  was 
the  only  candidate  of  the  Progressive  cause  for  Governor 
in  any  State  who  ran  ahead  of  Roosevelt.  In  New  York 
State  he  got  389,000  votes,  in  round  numbers,  while  I  had 
393,000. 

I  knew  from  observations  during  my  campaign  from 
one  end  of  the  State  to  the  other,  how  poorly,  from  a 
political  standpoint,  the  Progressives  were  organized, 
and  I  confess  I  did  not  see  the  slightest  chance  of  being 
elected.  I  was  not  disappointed,  and  I  think  that  the 
men  generally  who  ran  for  offices  on  the  Progressive 
ticket  were  not  disappointed.  They  realized  that  their 


326       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

contest  was  waged  for  a  cause  and  not  for  office,  and  from 
an  educational  point  of  view  the  campaign  was  eminently 
successful. 

Considering  the  vastness  of  the  undertaking  and  the 
shortness  of  the  time,  we  did  as  well  as  any  of  us  could 
have  anticipated,  if  not  better.  We  were  confident  that 
the  cause  would  triumph,  in  a  degree  at  least,  no  matter 
what  party  was  in  power,  and  I  think  the  facts  amply 
justify  our  belief  that  the  Progressive  ideals  made  a 
definite  impression  upon  the  country,  and  have  given 
strength,  if  not  dominant  influence,  to  Progressive  prin 
ciples  in  both  of  the  old  parties. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THREATENING  CLOUDS  OF  WAR 

Sinister  tension  in  the  international  air  —  The  Hague  Treaties  —  Germany's 
opposition  to  satisfactory  understandings  —  New  spirit  of  international  good 
will  gains  popular  momentum  —  A  conference  with  Secretary  Hay  —  The 
Senate  jealous  of  its  authority;  the  treaties  are  not  submitted  —  My  address 
before  the  New  York  Peace  Society  —  Other  addresses  on  world  peace  — 
Carnegie's  notable  efforts  —  My  lectures  at  the  United  States  Naval  War 
College  at  Newport  —  Conflicts  of  sovereignty  respecting  naturalized  citizens 
—  The  Lake  Mohonk  Conferences  —  The  American  Society  of  International 
Law  is  founded  —  Distinguished  speakers  at  first  annual  meeting  —  The 
Society's  growth  and  permanence  —  Roosevelt  astounds  the  world  by  sending 
the  fleet  around  the  world  —  The  homecoming  of  the  fleet  —  Opposition  to 
free  tolls  for  American  ships  in  coastwise  trade  —  The  Mexican  problem  and 
my  suggestions  to  the  President  as  to  how  to  meet  it  —  Italy  makes  war  on 
Turkey  for  Tripoli  —  Other  Powers  fail  to  grasp  their  opportunity  to  effect 
peaceful  adjustment  —  My  protests  and  warnings  are  published  by  "The 
Outlook"  —  The  outburst  of  wars  in  the  Balkans  —  Germany's  ruthless  ag 
gressive  policy  is  disclosed. 

THE  ominous  clouds,  visible  from  time  to  time  on  the 
diplomatic  horizon  during  my  last  mission  to  Turkey, 
had  latterly  expanded  from  only  local  significance  into 
implications  of  greater  and  more  sinister  magnitude.  It 
had  accordingly  grown  more  and  more  apparent  to  me 
that  the  tinder  box  of  Europe,  the  Eastern  Question,  was 
likely  to  burst  into  flames  at  almost  any  moment;  and, 
in  common  with  other  close  observers,  I  was  not  unaware 
of  an  inscrutable  and  widespread  tension  in  the  interna 
tional  air. 

It  seemed  to  many  of  us  that  America,  which  had  so 
long  remained  wrapped  rather  complacently  in  its  cloak 
of  isolation,  might  have  a  stern  duty  to  perform,  not  only 
to  itself,  but  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  That  duty  seemed 
to  us  to  involve  the  immediate  need  of  a  more  vigorous 
promotion  of  world  peace  and  of  the  specific  and  definite 


328       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

designing  and  constructing  of  a  proper  machinery  of 
enforcement. 

In  1899,  and  again  in  1907,  to  be  sure,  we  had  taken  a 
leading  part  in  the  two  Hague  Peace  Conferences,  at  the 
first  of  which  twenty-six,  and  in  the  second  of  which  forty- 
four,  nations  participated.  These  nations  had  signed  and 
ratified  the  various  treaties  formulated  by  the  two  con 
ferences.  The  first  conference  was  called  by  the  Emperor 
of  Russia.  Its  main  purpose,  as  stated  in  the  Russian 
note  proposing  the  conference,  was  by  means  of  inter 
national  discussion  and  agreement  to  provide  the  most 
effective  means  for  ensuring  to  all  peoples  the  benefits  of 
a  real  and  lasting  peace,  and,  above  all,  to  limit  the  pro 
gressive  development  of  armaments. 

Soon  after  the  conference  assembled,  it  was  found  that 
no  agreement  could  be  reached  respecting  the  limitation 
of  armaments,  whereupon  the  attention  of  the  delegates 
was  chiefly  directed  to  formulating  plans  for  the  peaceful 
settlement  of  international  disputes.  This  resulted  in  the 
adoption  of  a  treaty  of  arbitration  entitled:  "Convention 
for  the  Pacific  Settlement  of  International  Disputes." 
The  American,  the  British,  and  the  delegates  of  several 
other  leading  Powers  favored  an  agreement  for  compul 
sory  arbitration  of  all  matters  of  a  juridical  nature;  but 
this  was  opposed  at  the  first  conference  by  Germany,1 
and  again  at  the  second  conference.  The  treaty,  however, 

1  Andrew  D.  White,  chairman  of  the  American  delegation,  states  in  his  diary : 
"It  now  appears  (June  9,  1899)  that  the  German  Emperor  is  determined  to 
oppose  the  whole  scheme  of  arbitration,  and  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  any 
plan  for  a  regular  tribunal  whether  as  given  in  the  British  or  the  American 
scheme.  This  news  comes  from  various  sources  and  is  confirmed  by  the  fact 
that  in  the  sub-committee  one  of  the  German  delegates,  Professor  Zorn  of 
Konigsberg,  who  had  become  very  earnest  in  behalf  of  arbitration,  now  says 
that  he  may  not  be  able  to  vote  for  it.  There  are  also  signs  that  the  German 
Emperor  is  influencing  the  minds  of  his  allies,  the  sovereigns  of  Austria,  Italy, 
Turkey,  and  Roumania,  leading  them  to  oppose  it."  (Autobiography  of  An* 
drew  Dickson  White,  vol.  n,  pp.  293-94.) 


THE  HAGUE  TREATIES  329 

in  a  modified  and  purely  optional  form,  was  adopted, 
though  it  fell  short,  by  reason  of  Germany's  opposition, 
of  much  that  it  was  hoped  to  attain;  yet  it  was  a  distinct 
gain  in  providing  definite  machinery  for  the  maintenance 
of  peace  and  the  adjustment  of  international  differences 
by  peaceful  means. 

In  the  development  of  international  relations,  in  case 
of  the  threat  of  war  or  of  actual  war,  it  was  regarded  as 
an  unfriendly  act  for  outside  Powers  to  tender  good 
offices  or  to  mediate  in  the  cause  of  peace.  This  unfor 
tunate  and  unrighteous  condition  was  radically  changed 
and  indeed  reversed  by  the  treaty;  the  signatories  agreed 
not  only  to  have  recourse  to  the  good  offices  or  mediation 
of  friendly  Powers,  but  agreed  also  that  such  Powers 
should  on  their  own  initiative  tender  such  good  offices  to 
the  States  at  variance,  and  that  such  overtures  should 
never  be  regarded  as  an  unfriendly  act  by  either  of  the 
parties  in  dispute.  Especially  in  our  country  and  in  Great 
Britain,  these  treaties  awakened  anew  the  spirit  of  inter 
national  justice  and  good-will,  and  there  ensued  many 
meetings  designed  to  inform  and  stimulate  popular  inter 
est  in  the  cause  of  world  peace. 

John  W.  Foster,  former  Secretary  of  State,  who  had  been 
in  New  York  a  short  time  before  as  a  member  of  a  com 
mittee  to  provide  for  a  public  meeting  urging  the  rati 
fication  of  the  arbitration  treaties,  had  made  an  appoint 
ment  for  me  to  meet  Secretary  Hay  for  a  conference  re 
garding  them.  I  met  Mr.  Foster  at  the  Cosmos  Club 
and  went  with  him  to  meet  Mr.  Hay  at  the  latter's  resi 
dence.  Hay,  as  usual,  met  us  in  his  gracious  way  and  we 
discussed  the  subject  from  all  sides.  My  main  concern 
was  that  these  little  arbitration  treaties,  which  excepted 
questions  of  "vital  interest  and  national  honor,"  should 


330       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

not  have  the  effect  of  abridging  the  broader  provisions  of 
the  Hague  Treaty.  I  had  brought  with  me  a  draft  of  a 
treaty  which  guarded  against  such  contingencies,  with 
which  Mr.  Foster  seemed  to  be  in  agreement. 

Hay  said  he  fully  caught  my  idea,  but  that  it  had  been 
desired  to  make  all  of  these  treaties  alike  and  to  conform 
with  the  one  between  France  and  Great  Britain.  He  said 
it  would  be  difficult  enough,  as  it  was,  to  get  these  treaties 
through  the  Senate,  as  there  was  considerable  opposition, 
and  therefore  it  was  advisable  to  have  these  treaties  with 
the  several  Powers  identical;  otherwise  separate  argu 
ments  would  be  made  against  each  of  the  treaties.  The 
Secretary  asked  me,  however,  to  leave  with  him  the  draft 
I  had  prepared,  saying  that  it  might  prove  very  useful  to 
him. 

The  final  upshot  was  that  these  treaties,  to  which  Hay 
had  devoted  so  much  care  and  thought  during  his  last 
months  in  Washington,  and  by  which  he  hoped  to  lessen 
the  likelihood  of  war  throughout  the  world,  were  violently 
opposed  in  the  Senate  on  the  ground  that  they  deprived 
it  of  its  constitutional  rights.  Senators  Knox  and  Spooner 
and  their  followers  took  the  view  that  every  separate 
agreement  to  arbitrate  under  these  treaties  must  be  sub 
mitted  to  the  Senate.  An  amendment  to  this  effect 
emasculated  the  main  purposes  of  the  treaty  and  left  the 
subject  of  arbitration  substantially  as  it  would  be  without 
any  treaties.  As  Hay  stated,  Roosevelt  saw  the  situation 
plainly  enough  and  decided  not  to  submit  the  treaties  for 
ratification  by  the  other  Powers. 

On  my  return  home  from  Turkey,  the  New  York  Peace 
Society,  of  which  I  had  been  the  president  until  I  entered 
the  Cabinet  in  1906,  and  whose  membership  and  activ 
ities  had  been  very  much  enlarged  under  my  successor, 


ADDRESSES  ON  WORLD  PEACE         331 

Andrew  Carnegie,  gave  me  a  reception  on  January  7, 
1910,  at  the  Hotel  Plaza,  in  New  York.  Mr.  Carnegie, 
who  was  earnestly  and  intensely  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
international  peace,  and  who  had  donated  the  necessary 
money  for  the  construction  of  the  Peace  Palace  at  The 
Hague,  presided  at  this  reception,  and  made  one  of  his 
characteristic  addresses.  The  subject  of  my  talk  was 
"The  Threatening  Clouds  of  War,"  as  they  appeared  to 
me  to  be  gathering  in  the  Near  East  and  in  the  Balkans. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  the  most  timely  public  service 
I  could  possibly  render  during  this  period  was  to  help 
arouse  public  opinion  to  a  sense  of  the  imperative  need  of 
a  newer  view  of  world  relations,  and  a  genuine  public 
demand  for  an  international  understanding  and  machin 
ery  with  which  peace  might  be  maintained. 

"World  Peace"  was  therefore  my  subject  when,  on 
April  13th  of  the  same  year,  the  Authors'  Club  tendered 
me  a  dinner  "  in  recognition  of  my  public  services  at  home 
and  abroad."  It  was  presided  over  by  the  veteran  author 
and  publisher,  Henry  Holt,  who  nominated  Mr.  Carnegie 
as  toastmaster.  Speeches  were  made  by  our  ambassador 
to  Berlin,  David  Jayne  Hill,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  R. 
Slicer,  Edward  M.  Shepard,  Professor  William  P.  Trent, 
of  Columbia  University,  and  several  others. 

Though  the  Authors'  Club  has  a  comparatively  small 
membership,  limited  to  members  of  the  craft,  yet  there 
have  sprung  from  its  ranks  a  number  of  our  most  eminent 
diplomatists,  such  as  John  Hay,  Andrew  D.  White, 
General  Horace  Porter,  David  Jayne  Hill,  Dr.  Henry 
van  Dyke,  Seth  Low,  and  Frederick  W.  Holls.  The  last 
two  were  delegates  to  the  First  Hague  Peace  Conference. 

Determined  to  make  the  most  of  the  growing  popular 
agitation  for  the  promotion  of  international  arbitration 
and  peace,  Mr.  Carnegie  soon  afterwards  organized  a 


332       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

great  peace  meeting  which  was  held  in  Carnegie  Hall, 
New  York  City.  The  big  hall  was  packed  from  pit  to 
dome,  and  thousands  were  unable  to  gain  admission. 
The  meeting  was  opened  by  Mr.  Carnegie,  as  presiding 
officer,  and  he  was  followed  by  Baron  d'Estournelles  de 
Constant.  In  my  address  I  specially  emphasized  neutral 
duties  in  time  of  war  and  the  inhibition  upon  neutrals  to 
lend  money  to  belligerents  pending  war  as  being  quite  as 
much  an  unneutral  act  as  the  selling  of  ships  of  war  and 
armaments,  as  had  been  usually  the  case  in  the  past  when 
money  thus  borrowed  was  used  for  that  very  purpose. 

During  the  years  1903, 1904,  and  1905, 1  devoted  much 
attention  to  questions  affecting  international  relations. 
I  was  invited  by  Admiral  Chadwick,  president  of  the 
United  States  Naval  War  College  at  Newport,  to  deliver 
several  lectures  during  the  summer  of  1903,  and  took  for 
my  subject  the  protection  of  our  citizens  abroad,  and 
surveyed  the  entire  subject  of  citizenship,  native-born 
and  naturalized.  I  pointed  out  that  by  the  law  of  July 
27,  1868,  it  was  specifically  provided  that  naturalized 
citizens  while  in  foreign  states  shall  receive  from  our 
Government  the  same  protection  as  to  their  persons  and 
property  that  is  accorded  to  native-born  citizens  in  like 
circumstances.  All  the  European  countries  denied  the 
right  of  expatriation,  while  America  from  the  beginning 
had  insisted  upon  that  right  as  one  of  its  basic  elements 
of  liberty. 

In  several  notable  instances,  our  Navy  had  taken 
prompt  action  to  uphold  American  rights.  One  such 
case  was  that  of  Martin  Coszta,  a  Hungarian  insurgent 
in  the  revolution  of  1848-49,  who  escaped  to  Turkey  and 
from  there  came  to  the  United  States  and  made  the 
usual  declaration  preparatory  to  being  naturalized  un 
der  our  laws.  He  returned  to  Turkey  hi  1854,  and  at 


NAVAL  WAR  COLLEGE  ADDRESSES     333 

Smyrna  he  was  seized  while  on  shore  and  taken  up  by 
the  crew  of  an  Austrian  frigate  and  put  in  irons.  Be 
fore  the  boat  got  under  way,  an  American  frigate  ar 
rived  and  threatened  to  sink  the  Austrian  vessel  unless 
Coszta  was  released.  This  led  to  an  agreement  under 
which  he  was  put  in  the  custody  of  the  French  consul- 
general. 

It  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  the  men  of  our 
Navy,  especially  those  in  command  of  ships,  should  be 
conversant  with  the  principles  of  international  law,  as 
they  are  frequently  called  upon  to  act  promptly.  This  con 
flict  of  sovereignty  respecting  naturalized  citizens  caused 
the  war  between  us  and  Great  Britain  in  1812.  Beginning 
with  1868,  we  concluded  treaties  of  naturalization  with 
the  German  States  and  Austria-Hungary,  and  subse 
quently  with  most  of  the  other  States. 

My  address  was  subsequently  published  in  the  quar 
terly  proceedings  of  the  College  of  March,  1904.  The 
following  year  I  delivered  another  address  before  the 
College  on  international  relations  specifically  with  refer 
ence  to  Russia  and  the  United  States.  This  address  was 
likewise  published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Naval  War 
College,  and  with  some  modifications  appeared  in  the 
"North  American  Review"  of  August,  1905. 

For  a  number  of  years  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
country  who  were  interested  in  international  relations 
were  annually,  at  the  beginning  of  the  summer,  the  guests 
of  Messrs.  Smiley  at  their  noted  hotel  at  Lake  Mohonk. 
These  gatherings  were  known  as  the  Lake  Mohonk  Con 
ferences  on  International  Arbitration,  lasted  several  days, 
and  addresses  were  made  upon  various  international 
subjects. 

At  the  conference  of  1905,  it  occurred  to  some  of  the 


334       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

members  who  were  in  attendance,  who  had  long  enter 
tained  the  idea  that  an  American  society  devoted  ex 
clusively  to  the  interests  of  international  law  should  be 
formed,  that,  in  view  of  the  large  attendance  that  year  of 
many  prominent  men  interested  in  the  subject,  it  would 
be  a  propitious  time  to  organize.  James  Brown  Scott, 
Professor  of  International  Law  at  Columbia  University, 
and  Professor  George  W.  Kirchwey,  Dean  of  the  Law 
School  of  the  University,  were  most  active  in  promoting 
the  idea.  A  preliminary  meeting  was  called,  and  about 
fifty  of  the  gentlemen  in  attendance  at  the  conference 
took  part.  They  elected  me  as  chairman,  Professor  James 
Brown  Scott  as  secretary,  and  appointed  a  committee  of 
twenty-one  to  effect  a  permanent  organization.  The  com 
mittee  so  appointed  consisted  of  the  following:  Chandler 
P.  Anderson,  James  B.  Angell,  Professor  Joseph  H.  Beale, 
Jr.,  David  J.  Brewer,  Charles  Henry  Butler,  J.  M.  Dickin 
son,  John  W.  Foster,  George  Gray,  Professor  Charles 
Noble  Gregory,  John  W.  Griggs,  Professor  George  W. 
Kirchwey,  Robert  Lansing,  Professor  John  Bassett 
Moore,  W.  W.  Morrow,  Professor  Leo  S.  Rowe,  Professor 
James  B.  Scott,  Oscar  S.  Straus,  Everett  P.  Wheeler, 
Andrew  D.  White,  Professor  George  G.  Wilson,  and 
Theodore  S.  Woolsey. 

The  American  Society  of  International  Law  was  for 
mally  organized  on  January  12,  1906.  Back  of  its  found 
ing  was  the  firm  belief  that  the  influence  of  an  association 
of  publicists  and  others,  organized  along  the  lines  indi 
cated,  would  count  for  much  in  the  formation  of  a  sound 
and  rational  body  of  doctrine  concerning  the  true  princi 
ples  of  international  relations. 

The  following  editorial  comment  regarding  this  organi- 
aation  is  quoted  from  the  January,  1907,  issue  of  "The 
American  Journal  of  International  Law": 


SOCIETY  OF  INTERNATIONAL  LAW     335 

While  the  necessity  of  such  a  society  was  felt  by  many,  no 
serious  steps  were  taken  until  the  summer  of  1905.  It  occurred 
to  some  of  the  members  of  the  Mohonk  Lake  conference  on 
international  arbitration,  that  a  society  devoted  exclusively  to 
the  interests  of  international  law  as  distinct  from  international 
arbitration  might  be  formed  and  that  the  members  of  the 
Mohonk  Conference  would  supply  a  nucleus  membership.  Ac 
cordingly  a  call  was  issued  to  the  members  present  at  the  con 
ference,  and  as  the  result  of  the  call  and  meeting  of  those  inter 
ested  a  committee  was  appointed  with  Oscar  S.  Straus  as  chair 
man  and  James  B.  Scott  as  secretary,  to  consider  plans  for  a 
definite  organization  and  for  the  publication  of  a  journal  exclu 
sively  devoted  to  international  law  as  the  organ  of  the  Society. 
On  December  9th,  1905,  a  meeting  of  the  committee  was  held 
at  the  residence  of  Oscar  S.  Straus  in  New  York  City,  and  as 
the  result  of  favorable  reports  of  the  members  present  it  ap 
peared  feasible  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  definitive  organi 
zation  of  the  Society.  Accordingly  a  call  was  issued  by  the  chair 
man  for  a  meeting  of  those  interested  in  international  law  and 
its  popularization,  to  be  held  at  the  New  York  Bar  Association, 
on  Friday,  January  12th,  1906. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  decided  to  organize  upon  a  permanent 
basis  a  society  of  those  interested  in  the  spread  of  international 
law  with  its  ideals  of  justice  and  therefore  of  peace;  a  constitu 
tion  was  adopted;  officers  were  elected  and  the  Society  took  its 
place,  it  is  hoped,  permanently  among  the  learned  and  influ 
ential  societies  of  the  world. 

On  April  19  and  20,  1907,  was  held  the  first  annual 
meeting  of  the  American  Society  of  International  Law, 
at  Washington,  which  was  attended  by  an  unexpectedly 
large  number  of  members.  The  society  had  grown,  in  the 
short  time  since  its  organization,  to  a  membership  of  over 
five  hundred.  The  various  sessions  were  devoted  to  dis 
cussions  of  international  topics,  and  closed  with  a  ban 
quet  presided  over  by  Secretary  Root,  and  addresses  were 
made  by  several  speakers,  including  two  former  Secre 
taries  of  State,  namely,  Richard  Olney  and  John  W, 


336       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Foster,  as  well  as  by  James  Bryce,  General  Horace  Porter, 
and  the  writer. 

To-day  the  society  has  more  than  twelve  hundred 
members,  and  since  1907  it  has  regularly  held  annual 
meetings  and  issued  its  quarterly  publication,  "The 
American  Journal  of  International  Law."  Since  the 
beginning,  Elihu  Root  has  been  the  president,  with  whom 
are  associated  as  vice-presidents  and  members  of  the 
executive  council  more  than  forty  of  the  leading  writers 
and  authorities,  Senators  and  judges,  including  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States.  I  still  am  the  chairman  of 
the  executive  committee,  of  which  Professor  Scott  has 
from  the  beginning  been  the  recording  secretary,  as  well 
as  the  editor-in-chief  of  the  "Journal."  An  analytical 
index  of  the  fourteen  volumes  of  the  "Journal"  (1907- 
20)  has  recently  been  prepared  by  George  A.  Finch, 
secretary  of  the  board  of  editors. 

While  these  various  groups  were  pressing  forward  on 
their  respective  avenues  of  approach  to  a  better  under 
standing  between  nations,  President  Roosevelt  was  ap 
plying  his  energies  to  the  problem  in  his  own  way.  His 
method  was  in  this  instance  characterized  by  a  strikingly 
objective  and  dramatic  treatment.  He  firmly  believed 
that  the  greater  power  a  peaceful  nation  has  to  make  war 
in  a  world  threatened  by  war,  the  greater  becomes  its 
power  to  command  peace.  The  peace  societies  will  not 
endorse  this  contention;  but  the  history  of  international 
relations  gives  force  to  that  proposition.  Such  are  inter 
national  amenities,  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear. 

Roosevelt's  terse  message  to  a  world  threatened  by  war 
was  to  send  a  great  fleet  of  battleships  on  a  voyage  round 
the  world. 

The  fleet  was  scheduled  to  return  to  Hampton  Roads 


A  SHOW  OF  NAVAL  STRENGTH         337 

on  Washington's  birthday,  February  22, 1908.  It  was  to 
be  reviewed  on  its  arrival  by  the  President.  Admiral 
Adolph  Marix,  the  chairman  of  the  Lighthouse  Board  in 
my  Department,  in  the  tender  Maple  took  my  wife  and 
me,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leonard  Hockstader,  my  son-in-law 
and  daughter,  and  several  officials  of  the  Department 
to  Hampton  Roads,  and  we  steamed  out  to  the  tail  of  the 
Horse  Shoe  some  ten  miles  from  Old  Point  Comfort.  At 
the  appointed  time,  eleven  o'clock  that  day,  Admiral 
Sperry  in  his  flagship  Connecticut  passed  in  review  before 
the  President,  and  following  him  came  the  twenty-four 
battleships  consisting  of  the  sixteen  ships  that  went  around 
the  Horn,  and  eight  additional  ones,  most  of  which  had 
been  completed  since  the  squadron  had  left  the  Atlantic 
on  this  voyage  sixteen  months  before.  These  ships  had 
steamed  42,000  miles  without  any  hitch  or  any  casualty, 
or  any  untoward  circumstance. 

When  the  President  first  decided  that  this  trip  should 
be  made,  all  kinds  of  hostile  criticism  bristled  in  the  press 
of  the  country.  But  the  President,  with  his  usual  alert 
ness,  had  several  far-sighted  purposes  in  view.  He  says 
in  his  "Autobiography":  "At  that  time,  as  I  happened 
to  know  neither  the  English  nor  the  German  authorities 
believed  it  possible  to  take  a  fleet  of  great  battleships 
around  the  world,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  it  was  time 
to  have  a  show-down  in  the  matter;  because  if  it  was 
really  true  that  our  fleet  could  not  get  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  it  was  much  better  to  know  it  and  be  able 
to  shape  our  policy  in  view  of  the  knowledge." 

The  great  show  of  naval  strength  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  that  this  voyage  illustrated  naturally  had 
its  effect  throughout  the  world.  A  strength  that  is  not 
menacing  tends  to  allay  menace.  And  in  this  instance 
the  visit  of  the  fleet  to  Japan  was  promptly  interpreted 


338       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

by  the  Japanese  as  one  of  courtesy  and  good- will.  The 
President,  again  and  again  in  his  public  utterances,  as 
well  as  in  his  private  statements  at  Cabinet  meetings,  had 
emphasized  his  view  that  a  strong  navy  makes  for  peace. 
And  toasting  the  admirals  and  captains  in  the  cabin  of  the 
Mayflower,  he  exclaimed: 

"Is  n't  it  magnificent?  Nobody  after  this  will  forget 
that  the  American  coast  is  on  the  Pacific  as  well  as  on  the 
Atlantic!" 

The  home-coming  of  the  fleet  was  a  most  imposing 
sight.  The  weather  was  beautiful,  and  altogether  the 
function  appeared  as  calm  and  peaceful  as  if  it  had  been 
a  magnificent  pleasure  excursion,  which  indeed  it  had 
proved  to  be. 

On  my  return  to  America  in  the  fall  of  1913,  there  were 
two  notable  questions  that  occupied  the  attention  of 
President  Wilson  and  Congress,  in  which  as  a  private 
citizen  I  had  taken  some  part.  I  was  soon  invited  by  the 
National  Republican  Club  to  take  part  in  a  luncheon 
discussion  of  "Present  World  Problems,"  and  this  en 
abled  me  to  discuss  a  subject  that  had  resulted  in  a  plank 
in  the  National  Platform  of  the  Progressive  Party,  "that 
American  ships  engaged  in  coastwise  trade  shall  pay  no 
tolls."  As  this  question  did  not  arise  in  the  New  York 
State  campaign,  I  had  had  no  occasion  to  discuss  it  except 
on  one  occasion  when  I  was  asked  what  my  stand  was  upon 
that  subject,  and  I  plainly  stated  that  I  did  not  favor  the 
remission  of  tolls,  as  it  conflicted  with  the  spirit,  if  not 
with  the  express  wording,  of  the  Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty, 
and  that  I  would  only  favor  it  in  the  event  the  question 
were  left  to  arbitration  and  decided  in  our  favor.  In  this 
discussion  I  went  somewhat  fully  into  the  subject,  making 
it  clear  why  I  was  not  in  favor  of  free  tolls,  and  why  I  sup- 


FREE  TOLLS  FOR  OUR  SHIPS  339 

ported  the  President  in  the  stand  that  he  had  taken  for 
repeal  of  the  act  that  freed  our  coastwise  ships  from  such 
tolls. 

Others  who  spoke  at  this  luncheon  on  various  phases 
of  the  general  problem  were  William  L.  Mackenzie  King, 
at  this  writing  the  Premier  of  Canada,  and  Miss  Mabel 
T.  Boardman,  representing  the  American  Red  Cross. 

In  April  the  Senate  Committee  on  Interoceanic  Canals 
held  hearings  upon  an  act  to  amend  the  Panama  Canal 
Act  repealing  the  provision  providing  for  freeing  coast 
wise  American  ships  from  tolls.  Upon  invitation  I  ap 
peared  before  this  committee  and  supported  the  position 
that  the  President  had  taken,  in  opposition  to  the  pro 
visions  of  the  platform  of  his  party,  for  the  repeal  of  the 
free  tolls  clause.  Upon  the  urgent  request  of  the  President, 
the  repealing  act  was  passed.  Some  of  our  ablest  Senators, 
regardless  of  party,  took  opposing  sides  upon  this  ques 
tion.  Elihu  Root,  who  was  then  Senator,  presented,  in  my 
judgment,  the  most  convincing  argument  and  the  ablest 
speech  of  his  distinguished  career  in  the  Senate,  advocat 
ing  the  repeal  of  the  free  tolls  clause. 

Another  international  subject  which  I  was  carefully 
studying  at  this  time  was  our  relations  with  Mexico.  I 
felt  then,  as  I  do  now,  that  our  Government  has  often  been 
badly  served  and  wrongly  advised  in  regard  to  affairs  in 
Mexico.  I  suggested  to  the  President  that  he  should  send 
to  Mexico  a  commission  of  experienced  men  who  could 
in  a  comparatively  short  time  lay  before  him  the  true 
conditions  as  a  guide  for  our  governmental  action.  I 
pointed  out  that  under  circumstances  different,  but  no 
less  perplexing,  this  plan  had  been  adopted  by  Cleveland 
during  the  Venezuela  trouble,  and  that  the  appointment 
of  that  commission,  of  which  Justice  Brewer  of  the  Su- 


340       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

preme  Court  was  chairman,  had  hastened  the  solution. 
When  the  idea  of  the  United  States  sending  a  commis 
sion  such  as  I  recommended  became  publicly  known,  it 
was  favorably  received  by  General  Huerta,  the  then  Pres 
ident  of  Mexico,  as  well  as  by  Carranza.  The  appoint 
ment  of  such  a  commission  would  have  had  the  additional 
effect  of  offsetting  the  pressure  in  Congress  for  inter 
vention,  and  several  of  the  leading  Senators  expressed 
themselves  as  favoring  it. 

When  storm  clouds  are  rushing  across  the  sky,  it  is  very 
difficult  to  foretell  where  the  lightning  will  strike.  It  is 
needless  here  to  discuss  the  professed  but  spurious  reasons 
why  Italy  declared  war  upon  Turkey  in  1911.  It  was 
evident  that  no  casus  belli  existed  in  any  international 
sense.  The  naked  fact  was  that  Italy  determined  to  have 
a  slice  of  northern  Africa,  and  was  favored  in  that  crav 
ing  by  several  of  the  Great  Powers,  chiefly  to  prevent 
Germany  from  getting  a  foothold  on  the  Mediterranean. 
I  knew  from  my  observations  in  Turkey  that  this  aggres 
sive  action  on  the  part  of  Italy  would  far  transcend  the 
interest  of  either  Italy  or  Turkey,  and  would  inevitably 
arouse  the  restless  Balkan  Powers  to  action. 

In  a  communication  that  I  sent  to  Secretary  of  State 
Knox  on  September  29,  1911,  attention  was  directed  to 
what  would  probably  be  the  outcome  of  this  action  on  the 
part  of  Italy;  also  that  the  Hague  Treaty  not  only  sanc 
tioned,  but  made  it  morally  incumbent  upon  Powers  that 
were  strangers  to  the  dispute,  to  tender  their  good  offices 
for  the  purpose  of  a  peaceful  adjustment.  Just  because 
the  United  States  could  not  be  accused  of  having  any 
direct  interest,  such  an  offer  could  have  been  made  with 
best  grace  by  our  country.  If  ever  there  had  been  a  war 
of  conquest,  that  was  one.  One  of  the  London  papers  had 


ITALY  MAKES  WAR  ON  TURKEY       341 

frankly  criticized  Italy's  precipitous  act  as  that  of  "pirate, 
brigand,  and  buccaneer." 

In  an  article  written  for  "The  Outlook"  following  a 
number  of  public  addresses  upon  the  same  subject,  I 
pointed  out  that  Turkey,  both  immediately  before  and 
since  hostilities  began,  had  appealed  to  the  Christian 
nations  of  the  world,  who  were  co-signatories  with  her  of 
the  Hague  Treaty,  to  use  their  good  offices  for  peace,  but 
the  Christian  nations  had  declined  to  act.  In  this  article 
I  stated: 

So  far  as  it  opens  an  era  possibly  of  the  gravest  menace  to 
Europe,  it  is  primarily  of  European  concern;  but  in  so  far  as 
the  provisions  of  the  Peace  Treaty  are  disregarded  by  neutral 
Powers,  this  is  a  grave  moral  loss  no  less  for  us  than  for  all 
nations,  the  magnitude  of  which  is  not  lessened,  but  increased 
by  the  fact  that  Christian  Italy  is  making  an  unprovoked  war 
upon  a  Mohammedan  Power.  The  efforts  to  bring  about  a 
peaceful  adjustment  under  the  circumstances  is  not  only  a 
moral  right,  but  a  right  under  the  Convention  in  which  Turkey, 
Italy,  and  the  United  States  are  equally  signatories  with  the 
other  forty-one  nations. 

The  international  moral  damage  this  war  entails  is  the  con 
cern  of  all  nations.  The  manner  in  which  it  was  precipitated 
without  first  having  recourse  to  the  enlightened  methods  of 
peaceful  adjustment,  combined  with  the  concerted  refusal  of 
European  Powers  to  attempt  mediation,  will  make  peace 
treaties  waste  paper,  and  peace  professions  of  civilized  nations 
sham  and  hypocrisy. 

In  quick  succession  this  war  was  followed  in  1912  by 
the  first  Balkan  war  against  Turkey,  and  then  in  1913 
by  the  second  Balkan  war,  between  the  Balkan  nations 
themselves  to  divide  the  spoils.  For  thirty  years  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin  (1878)  had  served  to  maintain  European 
peace.  The  first  breach  was  the  annexation  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina  by  Austria.  The  second  was  the  Italian- 
Turkish  war,  followed  by  the  Balkan  wars.  The  toll  of 


342       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

these  latter  wars  entailed  a  sacrifice  of  300,000  dead  or 
permanently  disabled  on  the  field  of  battle;  and  the  im 
mediate  consequence  was  to  upset  "the  balance  of  power" 
so  that  the  Great  Powers  at  once  heavily  extended  their 
armies  and  navies,  and  their  budgets  ran  wild. 

Probably  the  most  illuminating  document  concerning 
the  conditions  that  led  up  to  the  World  War  is  the  Lich- 
nowsky  Memorandum  which  is  entitled:  "My  London 
Mission,  1912-1914."  I  had  known  Prince  Lichnowsky 
when  he  was  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  German  Em 
bassy  during  my  first  mission  to  Turkey.  He  was  ap 
pointed  ambassador  to  England  after  the  death  of  Baron 
Marschall  in  September,  1912.  This  memorandum  was 
prepared  as  a  personal  record  during  the  second  year  of 
the  war,  and,  after  being  privately  circulated,  was,  by 
design  or  otherwise,  published.  It  is  the  most  convincing 
indictment  of  Germany's  ruthless  aggressive  policy,  and 
it  naturally  brought  down  upon  its  author  the  severest 
condemnation  of  the  Emperor  and  the  militarists.  Ger 
many's  reiterated  claim  that  Great  Britain,  having 
designed  Germany's  destruction,  sought  to  justify  the 
large  increase  of  her  navy,  was  disproved  by  her  own 
ambassador. 

The  events  that  resolved  themselves  into  the  World 
War,  as  well  as  the  World  War  itself,  are  most  convincing 
proofs  that  the  preservation  of  peace  is  a  matter  of  com 
mon  interest  to  the  entire  family  of  nations,  and  that  it 
must  not  be  left  to  a  single  member  of  this  group  to 
disturb  the  world's  peace  at  will. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
PERSONAL  VIGNETTES 

We  motor  through  northern  Africa  —  The  King  of  Italy  discusses  world 
politics  —  Exploring  historical  ruins  with  the  Mayor  of  Rome  and  Georg 
Brandes  —  Two  Cardinals  —  David  Lubin,  international  genius  —  In  London 
—  William  Watson,  the  British  poet,  considers  residing  hi  America  and  asks 
about  cost  of  living  —  Lloyd  George  curious  about  Progressives  —  He  guar 
antees  a  one-pound  note  —  John  Burns  discourses  on  British  history  —  The 
notable  housing  experiment  at  Hampstead  Garden  Suburb  —  Earl  and  Lady 
Grey  —  At  Skibo  Castle  with  Andrew  Carnegie  —  Indifferent  golf ,  but  fine 
trout  fishing  —  At  The  Hague  Peace  Palace  —  Some  eminent  Hollanders  — 
Turning  the  laugh  on  the  cartoonists  —  Rudyard  Kipling  on  having  a  daughter 
in  society  —  An  evening  with  Israel  Zangwill  —  Henri  Bergson  hi  an  argument 
with  Roosevelt,  with  Rodin,  the  sculptor,  a  bored  listener  —  To  Spain  to  attend 
Kermit  Roosevelt's  wedding  —  Spanish  politics  —  A  protege"  of  Bismarck  — 
Recollections  of  Disraeli  —  Evidence  of  Spanish  and  Jewish  origin  of  Christo 
pher  Columbus. 

MOTORING  leisurely  through  Algiers  and  Tunis  with  Mrs. 
Straus,  I  was  now  enjoying  a  delightful  holiday,  free  from 
cares  and  responsibility.  The  drowsy  tropical  air  invited 
complete  relaxation,  and  the  lazy  African  days  ushered 
us  into  a  world  unbelievably  remote  from  that  of  Ameri 
can  politics.  Graceful,  luminous  Algiers,  with  its  bril 
liant  European  hotels,  charming  cafes,  veiled  women,  and 
swarthy  men,  etched  lasting  impressions  upon  our  minds. 
My  defeat  in  the  tense  Progressive  contest  for  the  gov 
ernorship  of  New  York  had  afforded  me  this  opportunity 
for  another  taste  of  freedom.  It  was  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  1913,  and  the  mountains  through  which  we  toured 
were  full  of  unexpected  and  beguiling  scenes.  This  region 
is  not  only  rich  in  historic  associations,  but  the  engineer 
ing  skill  of  the  French  has  in  turn  modernized  it  with 
excellent  motor  roads.  From  Tunis  we  crossed  to  Sicily, 
where  we  visited  the  Carthaginian,  Greek,  and  Roman 
remains  of  columns  and  temples  that  still  bear  tragic 


344       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

witness  to  the  conflict  between  the  armies  of  Hannibal 
and  Scipio,  and  between  the  transplanted  Asiatic  and 
European  civilizations. 

We  made  our  way  to  Rome,  where  Ambassador 
Thomas  J.  O'Brien  showed  us  many  attentions,  and 
arranged  for  an  audience  on  April  28th  with  Victor 
Emmanuel  III.  The  King  was  most  affable  and  agree 
able,  and  spoke  perfect  English.  He  referred  to  my  sev 
eral  missions  to  Turkey,  and  said  he,  too,  was  there  fre 
quently  when  he  was  in  the  navy.  He  spoke  with  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  men  and  affairs  in  the  Near 
East  that  surprised  me.  We  discussed  Arabia  and  the 
unrest  there  due  to  the  incompetency  of  the  Sultan's 
Government,  and  soon  the  conversation  turned  to  the 
Balkan  situation.  I  said  I  feared  that  as  soon  as  the 
treaty  then  being  negotiated,  which  was  to  end  the  first 
Balkan  War  against  Turkey,  was  signed,  a  fresh  war 
would  break  out  among  the  five  Balkan  Powers.  That 
would  not  surprise  him,  he  said,  but  considered  that  it 
might  be  best  to  let  them  fight  it  out.  I  answered  that 
the  trouble  with  that  course  was  that  the  fight  would 
involve  the  Great  Powers,  as  the  several  Balkan  States 
were  attached  to  strings  that  led  directly  into  the  chan 
celleries  of  the  Great  Powers  —  with  which  the  King  did 
not  disagree. 

We  talked  of  the  Jews,  and  he  said  in  Italy  they  were 
not  made  a  separate  element  in  the  population.  "We 
neither  know  nor  care  whether  a  man  is  a  Jew  or  not,"  he 
remarked,  adding  that  the  only  persons  who  took  special 
notice  of  the  subject  at  all  were  occasional  clericals.  Per 
sonally  he  was  very  fond  of  the  Jews;  nearly  every  min 
istry  had  contained  one  or  more;  and  General  Ottolenghi, 
a  Jew  who  had  been  Minister  of  War  a  few  years  before, 
had  been  one  of  his  most  favored  instructors.  Altogether 


THE  KING  OF  ITALY  345 

we  had  a  fine  talk  of  over  an  hour.  The  King's  quick  and 
vigorous  mind,  his  clearness  of  vision  and  breadth  of 
intellectual  grasp  I  found  very  refreshing.  Unlike  some 
of  the  monarchs,  he  did  not  seem  detached  and  weighted 
down  by  a  sense  of  his  own  importance. 

From  my  friend  Isaac  N.  Seligman,  since  deceased,  of 
New  York,  I  had  received  a  letter  of  introduction  to 
Ernesto  Nathan,  Mayor  of  Rome,  of  whom  I  had  heard 
much  and  whom  I  was  therefore  anxious  to  meet.  I  sent 
Mr.  Seligman's  letter,  together  with  my  card,  to  the 
Mayor.  The  next  morning,  when  Mrs.  Straus  and  I  were 
leaving  our  hotel  for  a  motor  ride,  a  tall,  prepossessing 
gentleman,  who  impressed  me  somewhat  as  a  typical 
Englishman,  came  toward  me  with  a  look  of  recognition 
which  I  instinctively  answered. 

"Is  this  Mr.  Straus?  I  am  Mr.  Nathan,"  he  said,  in 
perfect  English. 

His  brother  was  with  him,  and  we  were  glad  to  return 
to  the  hotel  with  them  for  a  chat.  We  arranged  for  a  little 
excursion  the  next  day  to  the  ancient  Roman  commercial 
city  of  Ostia,  whose  ruins  were  being  excavated.  In  the 
midst  of  these  plans  the  Mayor  remarked  that  a  friend  of 
his,  Georg  Brandes,  the  Danish  savant  and  critic,  was  in 
Rome,  and  if  agreeable  to  us  he  would  like  to  have  him 
join  us.  Of  course  it  was  agreeable,  and  in  our  little  party 
next  day  were  Mayor  Nathan,  his  brother,  his  daughter, 
Georg  Brandes,  a  Signor  Cena,  editor  of  a  leading  Italian 
review,  and  ourselves.  The  Mayor  acted  as  guide  and 
showed  an  astonishing  familiarity  with  things  archaeo 
logical  in  a  most  delightful  way;  even  the  occasional  spells 
of  rain  in  no  way  dampened  our  enjoyment  of  the  trip. 
Upon  our  return,  the  Mayor  took  us  to  lunch  in  a  typical 
Italian  restaurant,  where  we  spent  two  hours  at  a  sociable 
repast. 


346       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

My  introduction  to  Mayor  Ernesto  Nathan  led  to  a 
friendship  which  I  prized  highly  and  enjoyed  until  his 
death  in  April,  1921.  He  was  born  in  England  of  Jewish 
parents.  His  father  was  a  banker  and  a  descendant  of  the 
Frankfort  family  of  Nathans,  a  collateral  branch  of  the 
Mayer  family  from  whom  is  descended  the  great  banking 
family  of  Rothschild.  After  his  father  died,  his  mother 
took  the  family  to  Pisa  to  live.  Here  their  home  became 
a  refuge  for  Italian  patriots,  as  it  had  been  in  London. 
At  twenty-five  Signor  Nathan  became  business  manager 
of  "La  Roma  del  Popolo,"  a  paper  started  by  Giuseppe 
Mazzini,  a  friend  of  the  family,  whose  works  he  later 
edited.  Nathan  remained  an  editor  and  publisher  until 
he  entered  politics.  He  became  Mayor  of  Rome  in  1907, 
elected  by  the  anti-clerical  party,  and  during  the  six 
years  he  remained  Mayor  he  did  much  to  modernize 
Rome,  especially  in  the  improvement  of  its  street-car 
service  and  its  sanitation,  so  that  the  city's  death-rate 
became  one  of  the  lowest  in  Europe.  He  was  highly  es 
teemed,  and  even  the  clericals  respected  his  uprightness 
and  efficiency. 

Brandes,  when  I  met  him,  was  nearly  seventy  years 
old,  but  intellectually  vigorous  and  brilliant,  although 
cynical,  even  if  at  times  humorously  and  delightfully 
so. 

Through  David  Lubin,  American  delegate  to  the  In 
ternational  Institute  of  Agriculture,  whom  I  had  known 
for  many  years,  we  met  Professor  Luigi  Luzzatti,  Pro 
fessor  of  International  Law  at  the  University  of  Rome,  a 
leading  member  of  the  Italian  Chamber,  and  a  convincing 
orator  and  publicist.  He  was  then  in  his  seventies,  a 
large,  statesmanlike  figure  of  distinguished  appearance. 
We  spent  a  pleasant  hour  in  his  apartment  on  the  Via 
Veneto  opposite  our  hotel.  He  said  he  was  gratified  to 


PROFESSOR  LUIGI  LUZZATTI  347 

find  my  views,  as  expressed  in  my  "Roger  Williams"  and 
in  my  chapter  on  the  development  of  religious  liberty  in 
my  "American  Spirit,"  so  much  in  accord  with  his  own. 
He  told  me  about  his  brochure,  "Liberta  di  Consciensa 
e  di  Sciensa,"  which  had  been  translated  into  German 
under  the  title  "Freiheit  des  Gewissens  und  Wissens." 
In  it  he  makes  considerable  reference  to  Roger  Williams, 
and  pays  me  the  compliment  of  saying  that  he  derived 
the  inspiration  for  his  book  from  mine.  He  also  quotes 
extensively  from  Roosevelt's  letter  on  religious  liberty, 
which  I  have  embodied  in  Chapter  X  of  this  volume. 

I  called  on  Professor  Luzzatti  a  number  of  times  there 
after,  which  in  his  charming  way  he  had  begged  me  to  do 
because  he  was  confined  to  the  house  with  a  cold  and 
therefore  could  not  call  on  me.  In  one  of  his  notes  he 
wrote  that  we  were  friends  because  our  ideas  and  ideals 
were  the  same,  and  he  wanted  to  be  sure  to  see  me  again 
before  I  left  Rome.  He  confirmed  what  the  King  had 
told  me,  that  there  was  no  anti-Semitic  spirit  in  Italy. 
He  said  he  was  a  Jew,  but  was  not  brought  up  religiously 
as  such,  although  he  was  known  to  be  ready  on  all  neces 
sary  occasions  to  stand  up  for  his  people. 

Professor  Luzzatti  was  largely  responsible  for  improv 
ing  Italy's  financial  system,  and  in  the  establishment  of 
the  Banca  Popolari,  or  People's  Banks.  He  was  also 
influential  in  the  negotiation  of  Italy's  commercial 
treaties. 

Through  the  offices  of  P.  R.  Mackenzie,  who  for  a 
number  of  years  had  been  Rome  correspondent  of  the 
"New  York  Sun,"  I  met  Cardinals  Rampolla  and  Fal- 
conio.  We  called  first  on  the  latter,  who  knew  our  country 
well.  For  nine  years  he  had  been  papal  legate  at  Wash 
ington,  during  which  time  he  became  a  naturalized  citi 
zen.  As  we  entered  his  reception  room,  I  observed  two 


848       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

little  American  flags  attached  to  an  ornament  on  the 
center  table.  He  informed  me  as  he  greeted  me  that  His 
Holiness  was  quite  ill,  otherwise  he  would  have  advised 
me  to  allow  Cardinal  Rampolla  and  himself  to  arrange 
for  an  audience. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  informed  the  Cardinal  that  I  had  been 
a  member  of  the  Roosevelt  Cabinet,  which  recalled 
Roosevelt's  visit  to  Rome  in  1910.  Of  course,  I  was 
anxious  to  learn  how  both  these  prelates  regarded  that 
incident.  Cardinal  Falconio  said  that  the  Holy  Father 
had  made  no  conditions  as  to  the  visit,  but  had  merely 
expressed  the  hope  that  there  might  be  no  repetition  of 
the  Fairbanks  incident;  the  Holy  Father  knew  how 
broad-minded  and  well-disposed  Roosevelt  was  toward 
all  creeds  and  had  really  wanted  very  much  to  meet  him. 
The  Cardinal  said  that  of  course  Roosevelt  could  not 
be  blamed;  the  matter  should  not  have  been  handled 
through  the  embassy.  His  remarks  implied  that  the  mis 
management  had  been  there. 

We  now  went  within  the  Vatican  district,  under  the 
arch  on  the  side,  to  the  palatial  residence  of  Cardinal 
Rampolla.  On  entering,  we  were  led  to  the  Cardinal's 
private  room  next  to  the  formal  reception  chamber, 
where  the  Cardinal  greeted  us  warmly.  He  has  great 
charm  of  manner  and  is  most  gracious;  withal  he  im 
pressed  one  as  a  keen,  learned,  and  shrewd  prelate.  He 
was  regarded  as  the  ablest  and  most  distinguished  of  the 
cardinals  eligible  to  the  Holy  See,  and  it  may  be  remem 
bered  that  he  was  considered  the  logical  successor  of 
Leo  XIII,  and  it  was  said  he  would  probably  have  been 
elected  Pope  but  for  the  opposition  of  the  Emperor  of 
Austria. 

In  referring  to  the  Roosevelt  incident,  he  too  held 
Roosevelt  entirely  blameless,  and  added  that  both  he  and 


TWO  CARDINALS  S49 

Brother  Falconio  knew  how  kindly  Roosevelt  felt  toward 
Catholics  and  the  Holy  See,  and  that  there  should  have 
been  nothing  official  about  that  message;  if  he  had  been 
in  Merry  Del  Val's  place,  the  regrettable  misunderstand 
ing  would  not  have  happened.  Evidently  he  blamed  the 
papal  secretary. 

David  Lubin  gave  a  dinner  at  the  H6tel  de  Russie  to 
Mrs,  Straus  and  me  on  May  1st.  Among  the  guests  were 
Mayor  Nathan  and  Marquis  Capelli,  president  of  the 
International  Institute  of  Agriculture,  and  the  Mar 
chioness.  Professor  Luzzatti  had  accepted,  but  his  cold 
still  prevented  his  going  out.  Lubin  was  a  rough  dia 
mond,  so  to  speak:  a  man  of  vision,  unlimited  energy  and 
enthusiasm.  It  was  he  who  induced  the  Italian  Govern 
ment  to  recognize  the  International  Institute  of  Agri 
culture,  and  he  was  regarded  by  that  Government  as  its 
founder.  Indeed,  he  was  better  understood  in  Rome  than 
in  Washington.  He  knew  nothing  and  cared  less  about 
diplomatic  amenities.  When  I  was  in  the  Cabinet  our 
ambassador  at  Rome  had  made  an  unfavorable  report 
about  him  because  of  some  supposed  tactless  move  which 
was  objected  to  by  our  ambassador.  This  report  dis 
pleased  Secretary  Root,  and  the  result  would  have  been 
Lubin's  recall  as  our  delegate  to  the  Institute,  had  I  not 
interceded  for  him  with  the  President,  explaining  what 
manner  of  man  Lubin  was,  that  he  had  no  manners  but 
genius,  and  that  I  felt  sure  the  King  of  Italy  himself 
would  intercede  for  him. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  about  a  year  after  that  there  was 
some  question  of  appointing  another  person  as  American 
delegate,  and  the  King  did  intercede  for  Lubin.  For  the 
help  and  encouragement  that  I  gave  this  worthy  man  he 
was  always  thereafter  most  grateful  to  me.  It  was  David 
Lubin,  too,  who  first  aroused  interest  in  America  in  the 


350       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

establishment  of  an  agricultural  credit  system,  as  well  as 
in  the  cooperative  banks. 

From  Rome  we  went  direct  to  London,  where  I  shortly 
got  in  touch  with  William  Watson,  the  poet.  I  had  met 
him  the  year  before  in  the  United  States.  I  was  chairman 
of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Authors'  Club  at  the 
time,  and  as  such  its  president;  the  Club  gave  him  a 
reception;  also  he  was  at  my  house  several  times.  It  was 
said  of  him  that  he  was  better  known  than  Robert  Bridges 
and  would  have  been  selected  as  poet  laureate  in  prefer 
ence  to  Bridges  had  he  not  written  a  poem  called  "The 
Woman  with  the  Serpent's  Tongue,"  referring  to  Margot 
Asquith,  wife  of  the  Premier,  which  spoiled  his  chances 
for  official  recognition.  He  appeared  somewhat  disap 
pointed  and  to  be  considering  permanent  residence  in 
America.  He  asked  me  about  the  cost  of  living  in  cities 
other  than  New  York,  which  he  considered  too  extrava 
gant. 

Watson  gave  me  a  luncheon  at  the  British  Empire  Club, 
where  I  met  a  number  of  his  friends  —  Sir  Sidney  Lee, 
editor  of  the  "Dictionary  of  National  Biography"; 
Sir  William  Robertson  Nicoll,  editor  of  the  "Book 
man"  and  of  the  "British  Weekly";  H.  W.  Massing- 
ham,  editor  of  the  "Nation";  and  a  few  others.  Watson 
told  me  that  Sir  Sidney  Lee's  biography  of  Shakespeare 
was  considered  the  best  extant  from  an  historical  and 
critical  point  of  view,  and  that  his  biography  of  King 
Edward  had  created  a  sensation  in  England,  but  that  its 
aim  was  to  portray  the  human  side  of  King  Edward.  He 
told  me  also  that  Sir  Sidney  was  an  Israelite.  My  own 
conversation  with  Sir  Sidney  was  very  general.  He  is  a 
mild  man  with  a  reserved  manner. 

Sir  Charles  and  Lady  Henry  invited  us  to  luncheon  at 


WILLIAM  WATSON:  LLOYD  GEORGE     351 

their  beautiful  town  house  in  Carlton  Gardens,  to  meet 
Lloyd  George,  who  was  then  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 
The  other  guests  were:  Sir  Alexander  Ure,  solicitor- 
general  for  Scotland;  Dr.  Thomas  J.  MacNamara,  par 
liamentary  secretary  to  the  Admiralty;  Robert  Donald, 
editor  of  the  "Daily  Chronicle,"  a  leading  labor  daily. 

Lloyd  George  explained  the  important  Liberal  meas 
ures  to  me,  particularly  the  National  Insurance  Act  of 
1911,  amendments  to  which  were  then  being  considered 
in  the  House.  He  declared  that  it  was  necessary  to  curb 
or  reform  the  House  of  Lords  before  social  justice  meas 
ures,  such  as  this  insurance  act,  legislation  for  old  age 
pensions,  etc.,  could  be  put  through.  He  asked  about 
Roosevelt  and  the  status  of  the  Progressive  Party,  and 
whether  the  newspapers  were  favorable  to  the  cause;  it 
seems  that  the  newspapers  did  not  give  him  adequate 
information  regarding  the  Progressives.  I  had  to  tell  him 
that  many  of  our  leading  dailies  were  not  with  us.  I 
explained  to  him  that  I  thought  the  Progressive  move 
ment  could  hardly  be  regarded  as  a  party,  but  that  I 
believed  its  influence  in  liberalizing  both  of  the  old  parties 
would  be  considerable. 

When  I  was  in  London  shortly  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  World  War,  I  remember  a  humorous  incident  at 
another  meeting  with  Lloyd  George,  at  a  small  dinner. 
For  emergency  use  there  had  been  issued  one-pound 
treasury  notes  that  looked  more  like  a  "shinplaster"  of 
our  Civil  War  days  than  like  a  dignified  British  pound. 
One  of  the  guests  brought  in  a  number  of  these,  for  which 
some  of  us  exchanged  gold.  As  I  took  one  up  I  remarked 
about  the  appearance  of  it  and  added  that  before  I  ac 
cepted  it  I  would  require  the  endorsement  of  the  Chan 
cellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Lloyd  George  quickly  answered, 
"That  can  be  done,"  and  promptly  took  the  note  and 


352       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

wrote  his  name  on  the  back  of  it.  It  remains  in  my  pos 
session  as  a  souvenir. 

The  following  Sunday,  Sir  Charles  and  Lady  Henry 
again  invited  us  to  luncheon,  this  time  to  their  country 
home  near  Maidenhead,  to  meet  Sir  Rufus  and  Lady 
Isaacs.  Sir  Rufus  is  now  Lord  Reading,  and  it  was  then 
quite  well  understood  that  he  would  be  appointed  Lord 
Chief  Justice.  He  expressed  great  interest  in  our  parlia 
mentary  system  as  compared  with  that  of  Great  Britain, 
but  thought  the  British  method  had  an  advantage  over 
ours  in  that  members  of  the  Cabinet  were  at  the  same 
time  members  of  Parliament  and  could  advocate  their 
own  measures,  and  that  in  England  a  Cabinet  member 
must  be  not  only  an  administrator,  but  a  parliamentarian 
as  well.  He  was  very  anxious  to  know  how  administrative 
measures  in  our  country  are  brought  forward  and  enacted 
into  laws.  I  explained  our  system  to  him  and  told  him  I 
thought  the  system  of  questioning  in  Parliament  mem 
bers  of  the  Cabinet  left  very  little  opportunity  for  the 
Cabinet  members  to  devote  themselves  to  the  adminis 
trative  work  of  their  departments. 

During  this  stay  in  London,  I  again  had  several  pleas 
ant  meetings  with  Postmaster-General  Herbert  Samuel, 
whom  I  had  visited  when  I  passed  through  London  on 
my  return  from  Constantinople  in  1910.  He  informed  me 
that  within  a  month  he  intended  visiting  Canada  and 
then  the  United  States.  Later  in  the  year  I  met  him  in 
my  own  country,  where  he  delivered  several  public  ad 
dresses  and  made  a  fine  impression. 

While  we  were  at  tea  one  afternoon  on  the  terrace  of 
the  House  of  Commons  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel,  the 
Right  Honorable  John  Burns,  president  of  the  Local 
Government  Board,  joined  us.  He  knew  both  my  broth 
ers  and  was  pleased  to  meet  me.  He  asked  me  to  ac- 


JOHN  BURNS:  EARL  GREY      353 

company  him  to  his  department,  which  is  only  a  short 
distance  from  Westminster  Hall.  As  we  passed  the  en 
trance  to  Westminster,  he  said  to  me: 

"Let  us  stop  here  and  let  me  give  you  a  graphic  page 
of  British  history." 

So  we  halted  for  about  ten  minutes  under  the  scaffold 
ing  of  the  men  who  were  doing  some  repair  work  on  the 
edifice,  while  Burns  discoursed  eloquently  on  the  well- 
known  facts  of  British  history.  I  was  as  much  interested 
in  the  man  as  in  the  great  Gothic  structure,  and  my  mind 
went  on  to  review  the  march  of  democracy  from  the 
booted  and  spurred  Cromwell  to  the  radical  labor  leader 
John  Burns.  The  radicalism  of  Burns  was  at  one  time 
considered  dangerous,  but  on  entering  the  Cabinet  he 
became  conservative  and  reliable,  proving  the  effect  of 
responsibility  upon  even  the  more  radical  minds  when  in 
office. 

Across  the  Thames  Burns  pointed  to  some  factories, 
saying:  "There  is  where  my  father  worked  as  a  day 
laborer,  and  where  I  worked."  And  I  was  indeed  im 
pressed  with  the  democracy  of  Great  Britain  in  our  day. 

We  spent  a  charming  evening  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Harry  Brittain,  now  Sir  Harry  and  Lady  Brittain,  in 
their  cozy  home  on  Cowley  Street.  The  only  other  guest 
was  Earl  Grey,  former  Governor-General  of  Canada. 
Earlier  in  the  year  I  had  met  both  Sir  Harry  Brittain  and 
Earl  Grey  in  New  York,  when  they  came  over  respectively 
as  chairman  and  secretary  of  the  British  committee  for 
the  Celebration  of  One  Hundred  Years  of  Peace. 

A  few  days  thereafter  Earl  Grey  invited  Mrs.  Brittain, 
Mrs.  Straus,  and  me  to  breakfast  with  him  and  then  to 
accompany  him  to  the  now  famous  Hampstead  Garden 
Suburb.  I  was  glad  of  this  opportunity  to  see  that  experi 
ment,  because  the  subject  of  housing  workers  in  whole- 


354       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

some  homes  and  surroundings  at  a  moderate  cost  was  one 
that  interested  me  very  much. 

Hampstead  is  only  about  five  or  six  miles  from  the 
heart  of  London.  In  this  beautiful  suburb,  every  house 
has  a  garden,  and  the  architecture  of  the  houses  is  varied 
and  attractive.  Earl  Grey  knew  several  of  the  tenants, 
and  took  us  into  a  number  of  the  houses.  At  that  time 
the  rental  of  an  entire  house  per  week  was  six  and  a  half 
shillings  and  upward;  and  there  were  large  single  rooms 
with  cooking  facilities  for  three  and  a  half  shillings  a 
week.  The  population  was  almost  seven  thousand,  and 
the  suburb  was  being  extended.  There  was  an  air  of  con 
tentment  about  the  place,  and  the  children  looked  robust 
and  happy.  The  wonder  of  it  all  was  that  the  plan  was 
on  an  economically  sound  basis  and  was  paying  four  and 
a  half  per  cent  annually  on  the  capital  invested.  The  Earl 
had  much  to  do  with  the  development  of  this  suburb  and, 
if  I  mistake  not,  was  chairman  of  the  board  at  the  time. 

Mrs.  Straus  and  I  were  also  invited  to  spend  a  week 
end  with  Earl  and  Lady  Grey  at  Howick,  their  North 
umberland  estate.  Mrs.  Straus,  however,  had  planned  to 
take  a  cure  at  a  German  health  resort,  so  my  son  Roger 
was  invited  in  her  stead.  The  only  other  visitor  was 
Henry  Vivian,  M.P.,  who  was  associated  with  Earl  Grey 
in  both  the  Hampstead  Garden  Suburb  and  the  organ 
ization  of  the  cooperative  societies,  of  which  latter  Earl 
Grey  was  chairman.  I  participated  in  a  meeting  of  the 
Cooperative  Society  of  Northern  England  and  saw  how 
practical  and  inexpensively  conducted  they  were,  cheap 
ening  merchandise  of  all  kinds  by  eliminating  the  profits 
of  middlemen  and  the  cost  of  distribution,  and  to  that 
extent  lowering  the  cost  of  living.  Along  these  lines  we 
have  much  to  learn  in  our  own  country. 

Roger  and  I  spent  a  delightful  few  days  with  Earl  and 


WITH  CARNEGIE  AT  SKIBO  355 

Lady  Grey.  The  Earl  represented  the  finest  type  of  Eng 
lish  nobleman.  He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  ideals,  even 
regarded  by  some  as  rather  visionary  in  his  various  plans 
for  the  betterment  of  economic  conditions;  a  man  who 
recognized,  as  do  so  many  of  the  British  titled  people,  the 
patriotic  responsibilities  attached  to  their  position. 

I  now  proceeded  to  the  northern  part  of  Scotland  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  Andrew  Carnegie  at  Skibo  Castle 
in  Sutherland.  It  was  what  Andrew  Carnegie  called 
"university  week"  at  Skibo,  for  in  accordance  with  a& 
annual  custom  he  had  as  his  guests  the  provosts  of  the 
several  Scotch  universities. 

Every  morning  we  were  awakened  by  the  music  of 
several  Scotch  highlanders  dressed  in  their  kilts  and  play 
ing  old  native  tunes  on  their  bagpipes.  Those  were  unique 
and  memorable  awakenings  in  the  steel-master's  castle; 
the  bagpipes  attuned  the  mind  instantly  to  the  Scotch 
atmosphere  and  Scotch  tradition.  We  started  our  day 
invariably  with  a  game  of  golf,  at  which  we  helped  each 
other  out  as  caddies,  for  all  of  us,  Mr.  Carnegie  included, 
were  indifferent  players  (beyond  which  stage  I  have  not 
even  since  progressed),  so  that  we  all  felt  quite  at  home 
with  one  another  on  the  links. 

We  had  hoped  to  test  Carnegie's  much-lauded  and 
far-famed  salmon  pond,  but  that  season  the  fish  were  late 
in  coming  up  the  run,  so  we  were  deprived  of  that  pleas 
ure  and  had  to  console  ourselves  with  a  little  trout  fish 
ing.  Two  or  three  were  put  into  each  of  our  baskets  for 
breakfast,  and  the  remainder  were  religiously  restored 
to  the  pond. 

At  that  time  Skibo  Castle  had  but  recently  been  built, 
but  already  it  was  noted  for  its  generous  hospitality, 
which  both  the  British  and  American  friends  of  Mr, 
Carnegie  so  much  enjoyed. 


356       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

I  had  promised  Mr.  Carnegie  that  I  would  attend  the 
ceremonies  opening  the  Peace  Palace  at  The  Hague,  to 
which  all  the  members  of  the  Hague  Tribunal  had  been 
specially  invited.  From  Skibo,  therefore,  I  returned  to 
London,  to  meet  my  old  friend  Hakki  Pasha,  who  was 
one  of  the  Turkish  members  of  the  Tribunal,  and  together 
we  went  on  to  The  Hague. 

A  word  about  the  origin  of  the  Peace  Palace  may  not 
prove  tedious.  Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  first  Hague 
Conference  in  1899  the  late  Professor  Martens,  distin 
guished  Russian  international  jurist,  had  a  talk  with  our 
ambassador  at  Berlin,  Andrew  D.  White,  who  had  been 
chairman  of  the  American  delegation  at  that  conference. 
Together  they  discussed  the  desirability  of  a  building  at 
The  Hague  which  should  serve  as  a  "palace  of  justice" 
for  the  Permanent  Court  and  as  a  place  of  meetings  for 
international  conferences.  Subsequently  Ambassador 
White  presented  the  idea  to  Andrew  Carnegie,  and  Car 
negie  invited  him  to  come  to  Skibo  to  discuss  it.  Am 
bassador  White  records  in  his  "Autobiography": 

The  original  idea  had  developed  into  something  far  greater. 
The  Peace  Palace  at  The  Hague  began  to  reappear  in  a  new 
glory  —  as  a  pledge  and  sign  of  a  better  future  for  the  world. 
Then  there  came  from  Carnegie  the  words  which  assured  his 
great  gift  to  the  nations  —  the  creation  of  a  center  as  a  symbol 
of  a  world's  desire  for  peace  and  of  good  will  to  man. 

The  programme  for  the  dedication  was  in  keeping  with 
the  occasion.  The  city  itself  was  decorated  with  festive 
drapery  and  floral  arches.  It  was  a  beautiful  day  and 
great  crowds  of  people  had  gathered.  The  great  confer 
ence  hall  and  the  galleries  of  the  Palace  were  filled  with 
representatives  of  the  nations:  the  diplomatic  corps; 
about  forty  members  of  the  Permanent  Court;  members 
of  the  States  General  of  Holland;  the  Queen;  Prince 


THE  HAGUE  PEACE  PALACE  357 

Henry;  the  Queen  Mother,  and  many  ladies;  altogether 
an  imposing  assembly. 

The  ceremony  opened  with  the  singing  of  anthems  by 
the  choir  from  Amsterdam.  An  historical  address  was 
made  by  the  former  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Jonkheer 
van  Karnebeek,  president  of  the  Carnegie  Building 
Foundation.  His  son,  by  the  way,  is  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  at  this  writing  and  was  Holland's  chief  repre 
sentative  at  the  Washington  Conference  of  1921.  Mr. 
Van  Swinderen,  the  retiring  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
made  the  address  accepting  the  custody  of  the  building. 

In  the  evening  a  banquet  to  Mr.  Carnegie  was  given  in 
the  Hall  of  Knights  at  Binnenhof  by  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  in  the  name  of  the  Government,  to  which 
were  invited  the  nobility  and  all  the  high  officials  who  had 
attended  the  ceremony,  and  who  thereafter  were  received 
in  audience  by  the  Queen  at  the  Royal  Palace. 

The  greatest  possible  distinction  was  shown  to  both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carnegie,  who  were  brimming  over  with 
gratification.  Well  known  as  Carnegie  was  as  one  of  the 
greatest  captains  of  industry,  he  is  even  better  known, 
and  will  be  longer  remembered  throughout  the  world, 
by  the  extent  of  his  benefactions,  in  the  distribution  of 
which  he  found  his  supreme  happiness  in  the  last  two 
decades  of  his  life. 

When  the  World  War  began,  the  cartoonists  made 
much  sport  of  the  Peace  Palace  as  the  outstanding  em 
bodiment  of  the  irony  of  fate,  and  with  the  peace  advo 
cates  for  the  failure  of  their  vision.  But  evidence  is  not 
entirely  lacking  that  the  peace  advocates  may  yet  be  able 
to  turn  the  laugh  on  the  cartoonists.  Some  of  the  most 
constructive  features  of  the  League  of  Nations  were 
formulated  by  commissions  working  under  the  roof  of  the 
Peace  Palace.  The  International  Court  of  Justice,  organ- 


358       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ized  under  the  provisions  of  the  covenant  of  the  League  of 
Nations,  has  its  seat  within  the  Palace  and  will  soon  be 
ready  to  commence  its  constructive  work.  The  Palace  is 
a  contribution  whose  worth  to  civilization  can  hardly  be 
measured  in  a  single  generation. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year  we  returned  to  New  York,  but 
only  for  a  few  months.  When  Kermit  Roosevelt  became 
engaged  to  Miss  Willard,  charming  daughter  of  our  am 
bassador  to  Spain,  my  wife  promised  him  that  unless 
we  were  unavoidably  prevented,  we  should  be  present  at 
his  marriage  in  Madrid  early  in  the  following  June.  We 
had  become  very  much  attached  to  our  young  friend, 
whom  we  got  to  know  so  well  during  his  stay  with  us  at 
Constantinople. 

On  May  19,  1914,  we  returned  to  Europe  on  the  S.S. 
Lusitania.  On  board  we  were  agreeably  surprised  to  find 
our  long-time  friend,  Mrs.  T.  J.  Preston,  Jr.,  formerly 
Mrs.  Grover  Cleveland,  seated  at  our  table  in  the  dining- 
saloon.  She  was  traveling  alone  and  was  to  meet  her 
husband  and  daughter  in  London.  Naturally  we  spoke  of 
Cleveland  and  of  his  qualities  as  they  had  revealed  them 
selves  to  her  and  to  his  more  intimate  friends.  When  a 
man  is  President  and  always  in  the  limelight,  people  get 
a  perverted  impression  of  him,  a  fact  true  more  or  less 
since  Washington's  day,  but  perhaps  to  a  greater  degree 
in  the  case  of  Cleveland.  Mrs.  Preston  referred  to  many 
incidents  that  illustrated  his  gentleness  and  considera 
tion,  and  she  gave  credit  to  his  advice  and  guidance  for 
much  of  the  tact  she  displayed  as  mistress  of  the  White 
House,  for  she  was  scarcely  out  of  her  teens  when  she 
occupied  that  important  post. 

In  London  I  received  a  letter  from  Roosevelt  saying  he 
would  meet  us  in  Paris  on  June  7th,  and  suggesting  that 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZANGWILL         359 

I  keep  in  touch  with  our  embassy  there.  Miss  Catherine 
Page  also  was  going  to  the  wedding  to  be  one  of  the 
bridesmaids,  and  Ambassador  Page  asked  us  to  take  her 
with  us,  which  of  course  we  were  glad  to  do. 

We  stayed  in  London  for  several  days,  and  soon  after 
our  arrival,  there  was  a  young  people's  dance  at  the  em 
bassy  to  which  the  ambassador  asked  us  to  come  if  only 
for  a  short  stay.  There  we  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rudyard 
Kipling.  In  the  course  of  a  pleasant  chat,  I  asked  Kipling 
in  what  work  he  was  then  engaged. 

Kipling  pointed  to  the  next  room  at  the  dancing,  and 
said:  "Sitting  up  late  nights  as  I  have  a  daughter  in 
society,  which  is  my  principal  occupation  at  present." 

I  spent  an  evening  with  Israel  Zangwill,  during  which 
he  unfolded  to  me  a  plan  he  was  formulating  to  call  a 
conference  of  representative  Jews  from  various  countries 
to  form  a  central  committee  which  was  to  be  more  inter 
nationally  representative  than  the  Alliance  Israelite  of 
Paris,  which  is  in  reality  dominantly  French  and  there 
fore  does  not  represent  the  world  of  Israel  in  an  interna 
tional  sense.  Such  a  body  was  to  protect,  defend,  and 
plead  for  the  cause  of  the  Jews  wherever  necessary  and  to 
speak  in  behalf  of  the  Jewry  of  the  world.  He  said  he 
had  talked  it  over  with  his  colleagues  and  they  wanted 
me  to  take  the  presidency  of  such  a  body  because  of  my 
experience  in  statesmanship  and  world  diplomacy.  I 
took  care  not  to  discourage  him,  but  told  him  I  should 
have  to  consider  the  matter,  because  with  me  personality 
sank  out  of  sight  when  an  important  cause  was  to  be 
carried  forward. 

When  we  arrived  in  Paris,  a  note  awaited  us  from 
Ambassador  Herrick  asking  us  to  come  to  the  embassy, 
and  informing  us  that  Roosevelt  was  there.  When  I 
arrived  I  found  Roosevelt  in  the  smoking-room  engaged 


360      UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

in  an  animated  conversation  with  ex-Premier  Hanotaux 
regarding  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  races  of 
Europe,  in  which  Henri  Bergson  also  participated,  and  to 
which  the  sculptor  Rodin  appeared  to  be  a  bored  listener. 
Roosevelt  was  talking  French,  and  when  he  could  not 
find  the  word  he  wanted,  he  used  an  English  term  for 
which  Bergson  would  then  give  him  the  French  equiva 
lent. 

The  next  day  our  party  left  for  Madrid  —  Roosevelt, 
his  daughter  Alice,  their  cousin  Philip,  son  of  William 
Emlen  Roosevelt,  Miss  Page,  Mrs.  Straus,  and  myself. 
We  were  a  jolly  party. 

Roosevelt  and  I,  of  course,  talked  politics,  especially 
the  future  of  the  Progressive  Party.  The  State  campaign 
for  Governor  and  United  States  Senator  was  being  dis 
cussed  when  Roosevelt  left  home,  and  he  had  given 
out  an  interview  before  sailing  regarding  the  sort  of  men 
that  should  be  chosen,  in  which  he  had  kindly  referred  to 
me  as  the  standard  of  nominee  for  Senator.  The  press 
had  commented  extensively  and  favorably  upon  such  a 
choice  and  there  had  appeared  many  articles  and  editori 
als  giving  consideration  to  my  name.  Roosevelt  had,  of 
course,  referred  to  me  only  as  the  type  of  man  to  be 
chosen,  and  believed  that  if  the  nominee  for  Governor 
were  chosen  from  New  York  City,  it  might  be  well  to 
choose  the  candidate  for  Senator  from  up-State.  I  told 
him  I  had  no  personal  vanity  in  the  matter,  that  what 
we  wanted  was  the  candidates  that  would  best  embody 
the  cause.  He  answered  that  he  knew  me  well  enough  for 
that,  but  that  every  one  agreed  that  next  to  him  I  was 
the  most  prominent  Progressive,  and  in  New  York  State 
even  stronger  than  he,  as  shown  by  the  election  of  1912. 
Of  course  I  did  not  agree  with  this  generous  statement, 
which  was  another  proof  that  figures  do  sometimes  lie. 


KERMIT  ROOSEVELT'S  WEDDING       361 

He  expressed  the  hope  that  the  Progressives  and  the 
liberal  wing  of  the  Republicans  might  unite.  He  la 
mented  the  difficulties  for  the  party  in  the  coming  elec 
tion,  and  said  he  was  reluctant  to  enter  the  campaign, 
but,  he  added:  "I  must  stand  by  the  men  who  stood  by 
me."  If  Johnson  was  again  to  be  the  candidate  of  the 
party  for  Governor  of  California  and  needed  his  help,  he 
would  have  to  go  there,  though  he  could  not  overtax  his 
throat,  which  had  been  weakened  by  his  fever  in  the 
jungles  of  Brazil.  He  said  if  that  fever  had  overtaken 
him  two  weeks  earlier,  he  would  not  have  pulled  through; 
as  it  was,  he  had  had  a  narrow  escape. 

At  Irun,  the  Spanish  border,  King  Alphonso's  private 
car  was  hitched  on  to  our  train.  From  there  on  to  the 
King's  summer  palace,  where  he  left  the  train,  a  small 
guard  of  honor  was  drawn  up  at  every  stopping-place  and 
the  chief  officials  of  the  district  came  to  pay  their  respects 
to  their  sovereign.  The  King  was  only  twenty-eight 
years  old,  but  was  generally  conceded  to  be  a  man  of 
ability,  with  enlightened  views,  and  highly  regarded  by 
his  subjects.  However,  among  the  random  notes  that  I 
made  at  the  end  of  this  visit  to  Spain,  I  wrote: 

I  very  much  doubt  if  monarchy  will  last  another  score  of 
years  in  Spain  unless  the  King  takes  a  lesson  from  Great 
Britain  and  is  content  to  have  Parliament  govern  the  coun 
try.  The  democratic  spirit  is  rapidly  growing,  but  I  very 
much  doubt  if  the  people  with  their  long  traditions  of  mon 
archical  government,  will  be  prepared  for  many  years  for  a 
democratic  form  of  government. 

The  most  powerful  man  in  Parliament,  though  out  of 
the  Ministry  at  the  time,  was  the  late  Premier  Maura. 
The  Conservatives  were  in  power,  but  their  tenure  was 
precarious.  It  was  said  that  Maura's  ancestors  several 
generations  ago  were  Jews,  which  is  also  true  of  several 


362       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

members  of  the  nobility,  whose  ancestors  were  converted 
during  the  period  of  the  Inquisition. 

Our  ambassador  and  his  staff  of  secretaries  were  at  the 
station  in  Madrid  to  meet  us.  The  Roosevelts  went  to 
the  embassy  and  we  went  to  the  Ritz  Hotel.  At  eleven 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  10th,  the  civil  marriage 
took  place  in  the  Prefecture  of  Police  before  a  district 
judge.  It  was  a  simple  proceeding,  attended  only  by  the 
immediate  family  and  a  few  intimate  friends,  perhaps  a 
dozen  in  all.  The  ceremony  was  read  from  a  book  in 
which  was  included  the  marriage  contract.  The  bride 
and  groom  and  four  witnesses  then  signed  the  contract, 
the  witnesses  on  this  occasion  being  the  father  of  the 
bride,  the  father  of  the  groom,  and  two  Spanish  noble 
men. 

The  following  day  at  high  noon  the  religious  ceremony 
was  performed  in  the  chapel  of  the  British  embassy. 
There  were  about  seventy-five  persons  present:  the  diplo 
matic  corps,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  several 
other  Spanish  officials,  and  some  friends.  After  the  cere 
mony,  there  was  a  wedding  breakfast  at  the  embassy. 
The  Roosevelts  left  that  same  evening  for  Paris,  and  I 
did  not  see  them  again  in  Europe. 

This  was  our  second  visit  to  Spain.  In  1897  my  wife 
and  I  had  been  there  for  about  a  week,  and  many  of  the 
men  with  whom  we  had  spent  pleasant  hours  at  that 
time  were  now  no  longer  living.  Chief  among  these  were 
Sir  Henry  Drummond  Wolff  and  Signor  Castelar.  Sir 
Henry,  who  was  British  ambassador  to  Spain  at  the  time, 
I  had  not  seen  since  he  was  special  envoy  to  Turkey  in 
1888,  and  I  remember  how  delighted  he  was  to  see  us 
again  and  how  very  much  at  home  he  made  us  feel.  We 
also  met  Lady  Wolff  then,  who,  however,  was  not  well. 
She  told  us  of  some  of  her  experiences  in  Persia;  also  that 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  DISRAELI          363 

Sir  Henry  was  very  ill  there,  having  been  poisoned  at  a 
dinner  given  by  the  Shah. 

Another  colleague  of  my  first  Turkish  mission  whom 
I  had  found  at  Madrid  in  1897  was  Herr  von  Radowitz, 
German  ambassador.  He  invited  us  to  dine  one  evening 
at  the  embassy,  and  after  dinner  showed  us  the  throne 
room  in  which  hung  a  picture  of  the  Kaiser.  Radowitz 
explained  that  it  was  painted  by  a  friend  of  the  Emperor, 
"somewhat  theatrical,  you  see,  but  he  is  fond  of  appear 
ing  grandiose."  He  started  to  tell  me  how  he  came  into 
possession  of  the  painting,  that  he  had  told  the  Emperor 
that  the  embassy  had  no  likeness  of  him,  but  he  corrected 
himself  by  saying:  "No,  I  did  not  ask  for  the  picture,  my 
wife  did."  He  displayed  rather  a  slighting  estimate  of  his 
sovereign.  The  fact  was  that  he  was  a  protege  of  Bis 
marck,  and  after  the  latter's  retirement  Radowitz  was 
transferred  from  Constantinople  to  Madrid,  which  was 
regarded  in  the  nature  of  a  demotion,  and  that  perhaps 
largely  accounted  for  his  attitude. 

As  we  conversed  after  dinner,  Radowitz  made  the 
remark  that  in  1878  he  was  one  of  the  secretaries  to  the 
Berlin  Congress  and  that  there  he  met  Disraeli.  Disraeli 
always  made  specially  prepared  speeches  in  English, 
which  Radowitz  took  down  in  French.  Then  Disraeli 
would  compliment  him  and  say,  "Did  I  really  speak  in 
this  nice  way  or  did  you  only  write  me  down  so  ele 
gantly?"  When  Radowitz  replied,  "Yes,  this  is  what 
you  said,"  Disraeli  would  say,  "So  let  it  stand." 

This  led  me  to  draw  out  Sir  Henry,  who  was  also  pres 
ent,  regarding  Disraeli.  He  had  known  Disraeli  very  well. 
He  told  me  that  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  had  met  Disraeli 
and  had  always  had  access  to  him.  I  asked  Sir  Henry 
whether  he  had  not  kept  a  diary.  He  said  he  had  not, 
but  wished  that  he  had.  "Dizzy,"  he  said,  was  not  a 


364       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

compromiser;  if  he  had  opponents,  he  recognized  them  as 
such  and  never  sought  to  placate  them.  When  he  first 
entered  Parliament  he  was  a  brilliant,  flowery  speaker,  so 
much  so  that  his  party,  the  Conservative,  was  afraid  of 
him.  Afterward,  when  he  became  a  member  of  the  Min 
istry,  he  had  trained  himself  down  to  a  rather  prosy  level, 
yet  now  and  again  his  speech  would  glow  with  brilliant 
passages  excoriating  his  opponent.  He  was  quick  at 
repartee  and  often  held  up  the  other  side  to  ridicule  in 
telling  metaphor. 

I  asked  Sir  Henry  about  Dizzy's  loyalty  to  Judaism. 
He  said  Dizzy  never  denied  it,  holding  up  especially 
the  race  idea.  I  remarked  that  in  reading  such  of  Dis 
raeli's  novels  as  "Coningsby"  and  "Tancred,"  and  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Berlin  Congress,  I  was  impressed 
with  his  race  loyalty  and  his  purpose  to  secure  equal 
political  rights  for  the  oppressed  members  of  his  race  in 
the  newly  constituted  Balkan  States. 

Sir  Henry  answered  me:  "I  don't  recall  the  novels,  but 
what  you  say  was  true,  although  of  course  his  loyalty 
was  to  England  first.  Dizzy's  idea  was  that  the  race 
should  amalgamate." 

I  wanted  to  know  whether  he  recollected  when  Dis 
raeli's  novels  first  came  out.  He  said  he  remembered  all 
but  "Vivian  Grey,"  which  Dizzy  wrote  when  he  was 
quite  young.  He  added  that  Disraeli's  writings  made  him 
quite  a  lion  among  the  literary  set,  but  did  not  help  him 
politically.  He  wanted  to  count  among  the  best  socially, 
and  ever  pointed  his  political  guns  toward  that  target. 

When  I  asked  Sir  Henry  about  Disraeli's  personal 
appearance,  he  said:  "Lord  Dufferin  (Frederic  Black- 
wood)  looked  very  much  like  him;  so  much  so  that  he 
might  have  been  taken  for  Disraeli's  son.  Dizzy  and  Mrs. 
Blackwood  were  said  to  be  very  good  friends.  He  met  her 


EMILIO  CASTELAK  365 

on  many  of  his  frequent  visits  to  the  home  of  Lady  Bless- 
ington,  during  the  period  when  he  was  beginning  to  gain 
popularity." 

Sir  Henry  had  been  rather  critical  of  Disraeli,  but  he 
ended  by  saying:  "Taking  Dizzy  all  in  all,  he  was  the 
greatest  English  statesman  I  have  ever  known."  And  to 
me  Disraeli  had  always  been  a  fascinating  subject,  so 
much  so,  indeed,  that  at  one  time  I  had  the  intention 
to  write  a  biography  of  him. 

With  Emilio  Castelar  I  had  come  into  correspondence 
following  the  publication  of  the  French  edition  of  my 
"Origin  of  the  Republican  Form  of  Government  in  the 
United  States,"  in  which  he  was  much  interested.  He 
expressed  the  hope  that  the  next  time  I  came  to  Europe 
we  might  meet,  and  when  I  came  to  Madrid,  Mr.  Reed, 
for  many  years  secretary  of  our  legation  there,  made  an 
appointment  for  me,  and  accompanied  Mrs.  Straus  and 
me  to  his  home. 

He  was  a  short,  rather  stout  man  of  sixty-five,  bald, 
with  dark  skin  and  sparkling  brown  eyes,  and  a  gray 
moustache.  He  was  a  bachelor.  We  spoke  French,  and 
though  it  was  an  ordinary  conversation  he  was  quite 
oratorical.  He  said  he  was  a  republican  and  believed 
thoroughly  in  conservative  republicanism  such  as  we  had 
in  the  United  States,  but  that  Spain  was  not  ripe  for 
republicanism,  and  that  he  had  parted  company  with  the 
Spanish  republicans  because  he  could  not  endure  their 
principles;  they  were  ready  to  pull  down,  but  not  to  build 
up;  they  were  anarchists,  and  not  republicans. 

He  presented  Mrs.  Straus  with  his  photograph,  and 
when  she  asked  him  to  autograph  it,  he  returned  to  his 
study  and  wrote  in  Spanish  on  the  back  of  it  a  charming 
sentiment  regarding  us  and  our  country.  He  was  anx- 


366       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ious  to  have  us  come  and  take  Spanish  dinner  with  him, 
but  unfortunately  we  were  leaving  that  evening  for 
Seville. 

I  was  interested  in  some  articles  Castelar  had  written 
for  the  "Century  Magazine"  in  1892-93  regarding  Co 
lumbus,  and  especially  in  those  of  the  articles  in  which  he 
referred  to  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Spain.  I  asked 
him  whether  he  had  finished  the  work,  and  he  told  me  he 
had  brought  it  out  complete  in  book  form  in  Spanish,  in 
which  he  had  dwelt  more  fully  on  the  Jewish  expulsion 
and  had  published  a  number  of  facts  from  original  re 
search  made  for  the  work,  though  not  by  himself.  He 
went  to  his  study  to  give  me  a  copy  of  the  book,  but 
found  that  he  had  none  on  hand.  He  promised  to  send 
me  one  in  a  few  days  through  Mr.  Reed,  which  he  did. 

The  expulsion  of  the  Spanish  Jews  was  of  great  interest 
to  me,  and  on  this  second  visit  to  Madrid  I  took  advan 
tage  of  the  opportunity  to  see  some  of  the  historical  relics 
from  that  period.  I  got  in  touch  with  Dr.  Angel  Pulido, 
life  senator  of  Spain,  and  together  with  Professor  A.  S. 
Yahuda,  we  visited  the  historic  city  of  Toledo,  about 
two  and  a  half  hours  by  rail  out  of  Madrid.  Dr.  Pulido 
had  for  years  advocated  measures  to  induce  Jews  to 
return  to  Spain,  especially  those  who  still  retained  the 
Spanish  language,  as  do  many  in  Turkey  and  nearly  all 
those  in  Morocco  who  are  the  descendants  of  those  driven 
out  of  Spain. 

Toledo  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  Spain.  It 
was  once  the  residence  of  the  kings  of  Castile,  and  under 
the  Moors  had  a  population  of  some  two  hundred  thou 
sand,  of  whom  seventy-five  thousand  were  estimated  to 
have  been  Jews.  The  population  now  is  about  twenty 
thousand,  and  the  city  is  but  the  bedraggled  remains  of 
its  former  grandeur.  In  its  ancient  glory  it  was  noted  for 


A  VISIT  TO  TOLEDO  867 

its  silk  and  woolen  industries  and  for  the  manufacture  of 
the  famous  Toledo  steel  from  which  were  made  swords 
and  other  weapons  that  rivaled  those  of  Damascus;  and 
it  was  the  home  of  a  number  of  Jewish  scholars  and  noted 
men,  Eben  Ezra  (1119-74),  for  instance. 

There  are  two  old  synagogues  in  the  city  which  I  was 
anxious  to  see.  One  was  erected  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
or  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  was  converted 
into  a  church  in  1405.  It  is  called  Santa  Maria  la  Blanca. 
Its  architecture  is  of  the  best  Moorish  style;  the  interior 
has  twenty-eight  horseshoe  arches  borne  by  thirty-two 
octagonal  piers,  and  the  elaborate  capitals  are  orna 
mented  with  pine  cones. 

In  the  same  district,  near  by,  is  the  Sinagoga  del  Trans- 
ito,  of  similar  style,  erected  about  1360.  It  was  built  at 
the  expense  of  one  Samuel  Levy,  treasurer  of  Peter  the 
Cruel,  who  was  afterward  executed  by  order  of  his  king. 
The  walls  of  the  interior  were  decorated  with  Hebrew 
writing,  mainly  passages  from  the  Psalms.  In  1492  this 
synagogue  was  turned  over  to  the  Calatrava  Order  of 
Knights,  and  many  members  of  this  order  lie  buried  in 
the  body  of  the  building.  Later  the  synagogue  was  con 
secrated  to  the  death  of  the  virgin. 

Near  these  synagogues  also  was  the  Casa  del  Greco 
(House  of  the  Greek),  so  called  because  the  famous 
Greek  painter,  Dominico  Theotocopuli,  forerunner  of  the 
impressionists,  lived  there.  Among  his  pictures  is  a  large 
one  of  an  "auto  da  fe"  which  took  place  in  the  main 
square  of  the  city,  and  the  square  when  I  saw  it  still 
looked  much  the  same  as  in  the  painting.  The  picture 
shows  the  balconies  of  the  houses  surrounding  the  square 
filled  with  eager  and  gay  spectators  who  had  come  to  wit-4 
ness  and  enjoy  the  burning  of  Jewish  heretics.  They 
must  have  assembled  in  about  the  same  spirit  as  fashion- 


368       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

able  people  of  a  later  day  came  to  the  bull  fights.  In  the 
picture  the  procession  is  entering  the  enclosure  where  are 
seated  the  members  of  the  Holy  Office,  or  inquisitors,  at 
whose  side  stand  the  officers  holding  torches  with  which 
to  light  the  pyre  on  which  the  condemned  victims  were 
bound.  As  I  gazed  at  the  square,  I  could  graphically 
visualize  the  scene  portrayed  in  the  picture.  Such  cruelty 
and  perversion  inevitably  presaged  the  spiritual  as  well 
as  the  material  decadence  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Ibe 
rian  Peninsula. 

By  the  courtesy  of  Senator  Pulido,  I  met  and  had 
several  conferences  with  the  Marques  de  Dosfuentes, 
who  several  years  before,  as  Fernando  de  Anton  del 
Olmet,  had  written  an  article  entitled  "La  verdadera 
patrio  de  Cristobal  Colon,"  which  was  published  in  "La 
Espana  Moderna,"  a  leading  monthly  of  Spain. 

I  was  very  much  interested  in  the  data  that  several 
of  the  historians  of  Spain  had  unearthed  regarding  the 
ancestry  and  place  of  origin  of  Columbus.  The  article  by 
the  Marquis  just  mentioned  was  based  on  the  research 
made  by  Celso  Garcia  de  la  Riega,  and  both  Olmet  and 
Riega  came  to  the  conclusion,  based  upon  their  examina 
tion  of  records,  that  Columbus  was  not  an  Italian,  but  a 
Spaniard,  and  that  he  was  born  in  Pontevedra,  Galicia, 
in  the  northern  part  of  Spain;  that  his  father's  name  was 
Colon  (the  Spanish  for  Columbus),  and  his  mother's 
name  Fonterosa;  and  that  he  was  of  Jewish  ancestry. 

In  his  article  Olmet  says,  after  going  into  detail  regard 
ing  the  nationality  of  Columbus  according  to  the  docu 
ments  which  he  was  able  to  examine: 

Nothing  seems  more  logical  than  the  preceding  reasoning, 
and,  moreover,  this  is  the  simplest  method  of  explaining  that 
the  Admiral's  parents  were  a  Col6n  and  a  Fonterosa,  which 


THE  ANCESTRY  OF  COLUMBUS         369 

gives  us  a  clue  to  the  mystery  of  his  life.  From  the  document 
under  notice  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  Domingo  de  Colon  named 
was  a  modest  trader.  If  the  admiral  was  his  son,  it  would  not 
be  absurd  to  suppose  that,  given  the  social  prejudices  of  the 
times,  this  should  have  been  a  sufficient  motive  for  hiding  his 
origin  and  country.  But  there  is  still  another  reason  that  fully 
justifies  his  secrecy  and  clears  up  all  mystery.  The  patronymic 
"Fonterosa"  appears  in  the  Province  of  Pontevedra  connected 
with  the  names  of  Jacob  the  elder,  another  Jacob,  and  Ben 
jamin;  Colon's  mother  was  called  Susana.  "If  the  admiral 
belonged  to  this  family,  doubtless  Jewish,"  says  Sg.  La  Riega, 
"since  we  may  draw  this  inference  from  the  Biblical  names,  or 
if  he  belonged  to  a  family  of  new  Christians,  should  we  not 
forgive  his  action  in  the  matter  and  declare  him  fully  justified 
in  his  resolution  not  to  reveal  such  antecedents?  We  must  bear 
in  mind  the  then  existing  hatred  toward  the  Hebrew  race  and 
the  merciless  fury  let  loose  against  it  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
fifteenth  century." 

In  another  part  of  the  article  Olmet  says: 

Colon  never  mentioned  any  relative,  paternal  or  maternal. 
Even  when  Colon  was  at  the  zenith  of  his  fame  no  one  in  Italy 
came  forward  to  claim  relationship  with  him,  although  he  was 
the  most  famous  personage  of  that  time.  Thus  everything  goes 
to  corroborate  Don  Fernando  Colon's  affirmation  in  his  "Life 
of  the  Admiral"  that  his  father  wished  his  origin  and  birthplace 
to  remain  unknown. 

The  research  of  La  Riega  was  continued  to  1914  and 
published  in  that  year.  The  author  died  early  in  the 
year,  shortly  before  I  arrived  in  Madrid.  Other  Spanish 
historians  also  have  published  conclusions  similar  to 
those  of  La  Riega.  There  was,  for  instance,  a  brochure  by 
Enrique  de  Arribas  y  Turull,  entitled  "Cristobal  Colon, 
Natural  de  Pontevedra,"  which  was  originally  delivered 
as  a  lecture  before  the  Madrid  Historical  Society.  This 
also  sums  up,  in  nineteen  points,  the  reasons  for  the  con 
clusion  that  Columbus  was  a  Spaniard,  and  of  Jewish 
ancestry. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  WORLD  WAB 

Paris  throbs  with  the  Marseillaise  —  A  British  railway  conductor  refuses  a  five- 
pound  note  —  Americans  panic-stricken  in  London  —  A  special  committee  to 
aid  Americans  in  Europe  —  The  embassy  committee  —  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert 
C.  Hoover  —  Impressions  of  Earl  Grey  and  Waldorf  Astor  —  England's 
"White  Paper"  is  issued  —  Sir  Edward  Grey  —  Russian  autocracy's  effect  on 
Allied  cause  —  I  am  urged  to  state  British  views  to  American  newspapers  — 
We  return  home  —  James  Speyer  gives  a  dinner  —  I  broach  the  subject  of 
mediation  to  Bernstorff  —  A  flying  trip  to  Washington;  mediation  interviews 
with  Bryan,  Spring-Rice,  and  Jusserand  —  A  letter  from  Earl  Grey  —  Ger 
many's  insincerity  is  exposed  —  New  Year  messages  to  warring  nations  — • 
Roosevelt's  warnings  —  An  effort  to  persuade  President  Wilson  to  confer  with 
ex-Presidents  —  Prominent  Jews  of  German  origin  condemn  Germany's  at 
titude  —  America  enters  war  —  Final  visits  with  Theodore  Roosevelt  —  His 
death  —  Pilgrims  to  Sagamore  Hill. 

TOURING  through  Normandy  late  in  July,  1914,  we  met 
some  friends  who  had  just  come  from  Paris  who  told  us 
that  war  was  imminent  and  from  best  reports  would 
break  out  within  a  very  few  days.  Accordingly  we  hurried 
to  Paris  and  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours  the  whole 
aspect  of  the  city  had  changed.  From  the  windows  of  our 
hotel  on  the  Place  Vend6me  and  on  the  principal  boule 
vards  of  the  city  we  saw  youths  of  military  age  marching 
to  headquarters.  The  air  throbbed  with  the  Marseillaise. 
Everywhere  there  were  crowds,  but  they  were  neither 
boisterous  nor  hilarious.  Everywhere  there  was  an  air 
of  tension  and  determination,  vastly  unlike  the  usual 
mood  of  jovial,  happy  Paris. 

Starting  at  once  for  London,  we  found  the  trains  so 
overcrowded  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  accommoda 
tions,  so  we  motored  to  Dieppe  and  reached  there  in  time 
to  take  the  boat  that  left  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
for  Newhaven.  The  ordinary  capacity  of  the  boat  was 
five  hundred  passengers,  but  it  was  packed  from  stem  to 


PANIC-STRICKEN  AMERICANS          371 

stern  with  some  two  thousand  persons  on  this  voyage* 
mainly  Americans.  The  Calais-Dover  crossing  of  the 
Channel  had  already  been  suspended. 

On  board  the  train  from  Newhaven  to  London,  a  curi 
ous  incident  occurred  that  indicated  the  derangement  of 
things.  I  had  four  fares  to  pay,  amounting  to  about  three 
pounds.  I  handed  the  conductor  a  five-pound  Bank  of 
England  note.  He  took  it,  but  shortly  returned  with  it, 
saying  he  could  accept  nothing  but  gold.  I  expostulated 
with  him,  told  him  I  had  no  gold,  and  since  a  bank  note 
was  valid  tender  I  insisted  upon  its  acceptance.  But  the 
upshot  was  that  he  preferred  to  take  my  card  with  my 
London  address! 

It  would  appear  that  my  credit  at  that  moment  was 
better  than  that  of  the  Bank  of  England. 

We  arrived  in  London  on  Sunday,  August  2d.  At  the 
Hyde  Park  Hotel,  to  which  we  went,  a  typewritten 
notice  was  posted  announcing  a  meeting  on  the  following 
day  at  the  Waldorf  Hotel  on  the  Strand.  The  persons  who 
signed  the  notice  were  unknown  to  me,  and  at  first  I  was 
inclined  to  pay  no  attention  to  it.  However,  I  did  go,  and 
found  gathered  inside  and  in  front  of  the  hotel  several 
thousand  stranded  Americans.  The  main  hall  and  all 
approaches  to  it  were  packed.  Several  persons  in  the 
crowd  recognized  me  and  made  a  passageway  so  that  I 
could  get  into  the  room  where  the  meeting  was  being 
held.  Upon  my  entrance  I  was  lifted  upon  a  table  that 
served  as  a  platform,  and  was  asked  to  speak.  I  made  a 
short  address  to  the  panic-stricken  assembly,  assured  them 
they  had  nothing  to  fear  and  were  as  safe  in  London  as  if 
they  were  in  New  York,  and  that  our  committee  would 
remain  with  them  and  help  them  get  suitable  transporta 
tion  as  early  as  practicable.  There  was  loud  cheering  and 
my  words  seemed  to  have  a  comforting  effect. 


372       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Immediately  thereafter  a  group  of  us  came  together 
and  organized  a  special  committee  for  the  aid  of  Ameri 
cans  in  Europe.  There  were  Frederick  I.  Kent,  one  of  the 
vice-presidents  of  the  Bankers'  Trust  Company;  W.  N. 
Duane,  another  vice-president  of  the  Bankers'  Trust 
Company;  Theodore  Hetzler,  a  vice-president  of  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Bank;  Joseph  P.  Day,  a  prominent  real 
estate  auctioneer  of  New  York  City;  William  C.  Breed, 
an  officer  of  the  Merchants'  Association;  Chandler  P. 
Anderson  and  James  Byrne,  prominent  American  law 
yers,  several  others,  and  myself.  We  arranged  for  head 
quarters  at  the  Hotel  Savoy,  where  several  of  the  largest 
salons  were  placed  at  our  disposal  so  that  we  had  room 
for  the  various  departments  that  needed  to  be  formed  to 
attend  to  the  wants  of  the  many  terrified  Americans  who 
were  pouring  into  London  from  all  over  the  Continent. 
Mr.  Hetzler  was  chairman  of  the  general  committee,  Mr. 
Duane  secretary,  and  Robert  W.  DeForest,  vice-presi 
dent  of  the  American  Red  Cross,  was  member  ex-qfficio. 
I  was  made  chairman  of  the  embassy  committee  of  which 
Ambassador  Page  was  honorary  chairman,  and  the  Ameri 
can  ambassadors  to  France,  Germany,  Austria,  and  the 
ministers  to  Holland  and  Belgium  were  made  advisory 
members.  We  found  many  willing  helpers,  including  a 
number  of  professors  from  American  universities  and 
other  public-spirited  men  and  women. 

The  necessary  sub-committees  were  speedily  formed: 
Mr.  Day  was  made  chairman  of  the  transportation  com 
mittee  and  got  in  touch  with  the  managers  of  all  the 
transatlantic  steamship  companies.  Mr.  Kent  was  chair 
man  of  the  finance  committee,  and  through  his  banking 
connections  was  able  to  get  a  limited  amount  of  gold  to 
advance  to  those  who  could  not  convert  their  foreign 
money,  notwithstanding  the  moratorium  that  had  beeo 


COMMITTEE  TO  AID  AMERICANS       373 

declared  which  made  it  impossible  for  several  days  to  get 
ready  money;  foreign  bills  were  not  being  accepted  by 
the  banks.  With  the  declaration  of  the  moratorium  we 
at  once  called  a  meeting  of  the  managers  of  the  hotels 
where  most  of  the  Americans  were  stopping,  and  without 
exception  these  men  were  very  accommodating.  They 
agreed  not  to  require  payment  from  their  American 
guests  for  the  time  being,  and  as  far  as  possible  to  ad 
vance  them  a  little  money  to  meet  their  immediate  re 
quirements. 

Our  embassy  was  crowded  from  morning  to  night  with 
hundreds  of  citizens,  most  of  whom  wanted  to  make  ap 
plication  for  passports,  for  the  steamship  companies  re 
quired  the  exhibition  of  passports  before  arranging  for 
transportation.  The  rooms  at  the  embassy  were  not 
large  enough  to  accommodate  the  crowds  that  filled 
them,  so  we  transferred  the  passport  division  to  the  Hotel 
Savoy,  and  Ambassador  Page  assigned  to  me  several  clerks 
to  facilitate  the  handling  of  our  business.  I  am  sorry  to 
say  there  was  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  American 
travelers  to  find  fault  with  our  ambassador  and  the  em 
bassy.  This  was  not  at  all  justified,  and  I  took  every  oc 
casion  to  assure  them  that  the  ambassador  was  doing  all 
in  his  power  with  his  limited  staff,  and  that  our  committee 
had  his  fullest  cooperation  and  was  getting  his  aid  in 
every  possible  way.  I  consulted  with  Ambassador  Page 
almost  every  day,  and  together  we  planned  for  arranging 
for  money  and  the  many  other  requirements  of  our  citi 
zens. 

In  those  first  hectic  days,  some  of  us  worked  all  day 
and  far  into  the  night,  or  rather  into  the  next  morning. 
Many  British  friends  who  visited  our  rooms  marveled  at 
the  promptness  and  efficiency  with  which  we  dispatched 
business  under  the  circumstances,  and  were  solicitous  for 


374       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  health  of  "the  unofficial  ambassador,"  as  I  was  being 
called,  and  his  staff. 

After  the  committee  had  been  going  a  few  days,  it  se 
cured  the  cooperation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert  C.  Hoover. 
He  was  chairman  of  an  American  benevolent  society,  of 
the  woman's  committee  of  which  Mrs.  Hoover  was  at 
the  head.  As  the  members  of  our  relief  committee  re 
turned  home,  the  work  was  by  degrees  turned  over  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hoover  and  their  associates,  until  by  August 
27th  we  put  all  of  the  remaining  work  and  funds  into  the 
hands  of  their  society. 

One  day  Earl  Grey  paid  me  a  visit  at  our  headquarters, 
and  with  him  was  Mrs.  Waldorf  Astor,  now  Viscountess 
Astor,  who  reminded  me  that  "all  work  and  no  play  makes 
Jack  a  dull  boy,"  and  insisted  that  Mrs.  Straus  and  I 
spend  the  week-end  at  Cliveden,  their  residence,  a  short 
distance  by  rail  out  of  London.  Other  guests  were  Earl 
Grey,  Geoffrey  Robinson,  editor  of  the  London  "  Times," 
and  several  others  connected  with  the  editorship  of  "The 
Round  Table,"  a  political  quarterly. 

Mr.  Waldorf  Astor  was  an  earnest,  modest  young  man, 
then  about  thirty-four  years  old,  unspoiled  by  his  enor 
mous  wealth.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  and  still  is  devot 
ing  much  of  his  wealth  as  well  as  his  parliamentary  activ 
ities  to  philanthropic  work,  including  the  treatment  and 
prevention  of  tuberculosis,  and  in  this  connection  had 
been  in  touch  with  my  brother  Nathan  in  regard  to  milk 
pasteurization. 

There  were  several  subsequent  week-ends  at  Cliveden. 
On  one  of  these  visits,  a  dozen  or  more  young  men  were 
there,  members  of  England's  foremost  families.  They 
enjoyed  themselves  at  tennis  and  other  games  and  on 
Monday  were  to  join  the  colors.  It  is  sad  to  record  that 
most  of  these  fine  fellows,  with  the  exception  of  two  or 


SIR  EDWARD  GREY  375 

three,  were  killed  or  seriously  wounded  within  the  next 
few  months. 

When  England  entered  the  war,  the  diplomatic  cor 
respondence  was  published  in  what  was  called  the  British 
"White  Paper."  Sir  Edward  Grey,  now  Viscount  Grey, 
had  made  a  speech  in  Parliament,  of  which  I  read  the 
published  version  in  this  "White  Paper."  It  happened 
that  on  that  very  day  Earl  Grey,  cousin  to  Sir  Edward, 
was  lunching  with  me  at  my  hotel,  and  I  took  the  oc 
casion  to  point  out  to  him  the  necessity  of  making  clear, 
especially  for  the  American  public,  that  the  reason  Eng 
land  had  joined  the  Allies  was  not  only  on  Belgium's 
account,  but  to  uphold  the  sanctity  of  international  obli 
gations.  This  concerned  not  alone  the  belligerent  nations, 
but  all  the  nations.  Without  the  sanctity  of  international 
obligations  the  war,  no  matter  how  it  ended,  would  cause 
a  reversion  to  a  state  of  international  barbarity.  Earl 
Grey  suggested  that  I  discuss  the  subject  with  his  cousin, 
and  arranged  for  a  meeting.  A  few  days  later  we  three  sat 
down  to  a  simple  and  informal  luncheon  at  Earl  Grey's 
home  on  South  Street,  in  Park  Lane. 

Sir  Edward  Grey  spoke  earnestly  and  frankly.  He  felt 
the  great  responsibility  of  the  decision  that  brought 
England  into  the  war,  and  said  he  had  often  asked  him 
self  whether  he  could  have  done  otherwise.  There  was 
nothing  chauvinistic  in  either  his  attitude  or  his  argu 
ments.  It  was  plain  that  he  had  weighed  the  entire 
issue  carefully.  His  open-mindedness,  his  simplicity  and 
straightforwardness  of  manner,  his  great  ability  and 
humanitarian  zeal,  impressed  me  very  much. 

I  called  his  attention  to  the  importance  of  having 
Russia  grant  civil  and  religious  rights  to  her  subject 
nationalities;  the  failure  of  such  action  would  weaken 
the  moral  cause  of  the  Allies,  and  also  from  an  American 


376       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

point  of  view  it  was  important  that  Russia  give  some 
evidence  of  a  liberal  spirit,  otherwise  it  might  be  feared 
that  victory  for  the  Allies  would  redound  mainly  to  the 
advantage  of  autocracy  in  Russia.  I  contended  that  it 
was  not  a  question  of  humanity,  but  plain  state  policy, 
and  that  it  was  important  that  the  Governments  of  Great 
Britain  and  France  bring  Russia,  as  their  ally,  into  line. 
I  had  received  several  cables  from  prominent  men  in  New 
York  and  Boston  who  had  thus  expressed  the  American 
point  of  view. 

The  conversation  ran  on  for  an  hour  and  a  half  in  a  very 
informal  way.  Earl  Grey  then  made  the  suggestion,  in 
accordance  with  my  remarks  of  a  few  days  before  about 
the  necessity  of  making  clear  England's  position  in  enter 
ing  the  war,  that  I  give  out  an  interview  to  the  Ameri 
can  press  covering  the  substance  of  our  conversation.  I 
demurred.  Naturally  I  hesitated  to  state  publicly  the 
delicate  and  critical  questions  that  the  British  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  had  so  frankly  discussed  with  me. 
However,  Sir  Edward  himself  said  he  would  appreciate 
my  doing  so,  for  he  had  perfect  confidence  in  my  doing 
it  without  embarrassment  to  his  country.  I  therefore 
agreed  to  it,  with  the  proviso  that  he  approve  the  inter 
view  before  it  was  released  for  publication. 

I  got  in  touch  with  the  representatives  of  the  American 
papers  in  London  and  that  evening  gave  out  the  inter 
view.  The  next  morning  I  sent  a  copy  to  Sir  Edward, 
who  returned  it  to  me  without  a  single  change,  saying  he 
approved  both  its  form  and  content.  The  matter  was 
then  cabled  to  America,  published  in  our  leading  papers 
on  August  15th,  and  cabled  back  for  republication  in  the 
British  papers. 

Thereafter  the  London  papers  came  to  me  for  further 
interviews,  and  in  a  subsequent  statement  I  dwelt  more 


RUSSIAN  AUTOCRACY  377 

specifically  on  the  importance  of  Russia's  fair  treatment 
of  her  subject  nationalities,  particularly  the  Jews,  who 
had  suffered  most.  The  press  representatives  asked 
whether  they  might  show  my  interview  to  Lord  Wear- 
dale  and  if  possible  get  his  comment,  to  which  I  gladly 
consented. 

Lord  Weardale  had  been  head  of  the  Parliamentary 
deputation  that  visited  Russia  the  year  before  and  had 
an  intimate  knowledge  of  Russian  conditions.  He  told  me 
later  that  he  had  already  written  the  Russian  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  Sazonoff,  along  the  identical  lines  of 
my  interview.  He  supplemented  what  I  had  stated,  with 
an  interview,  saying,  among  other  things: 

It  would  be  an  immense  step  in  the  path  of  progress  of  Russia 
herself  and  would  create  a  profound  sentiment  of  satisfaction 
in  the  civilized  world  if  the  Tsar  at  such  a  juncture  were  to  give 
emphatic  endorsement  to  his  already  declared  intention  to  give 
full  religious  liberty  to  all  his  peoples.  It  is  not  enough  to  be 
powerful  in  the  battlefield;  it  is  even  more  important  to  conquer 
the  approval  of  the  human  conscience. 

The  Government  and  people  of  Great  Britain  were 
very  solicitous  at  that  time  regarding  public  opinion  in 
America  and  the  probable  attitude  of  our  Government. 
In  many  quarters  there  was  a  feeling  of  uncertainty  and 
even  of  misgiving  toward  the  statement  by  President 
Wilson  respecting  an  offer  of  mediation  at  the  opportune 
moment,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Hague 
Treaty.  Because  of  this  and  other  considerations,  Sir 
Edward  Grey  and  others  recognized  the  importance 
of  having  Russia  give  evidence  of  a  more  enlightened 
spirit. 

We  left  London  at  the  end  of  August,  and  upon  arrival 
home  went  up  to  Hartsdale,  a  short  distance  out  of  New 


378       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

York,  to  visit  with  our  son.  A  few  days  afterward  Mr. 
James  Speyer,  whose  summer  home  was  but  a  few  miles 
distant,  at  Scarboro,  telephoned,  inviting  Mrs.  Straus 
and  myself  to  dine  with  him.  Mrs.  Speyer  had  not 
returned  from  abroad;  the  guests  were  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Frank  A.  Vanderlip  and  Count  von  Bernstorff.  As  Mrs. 
Straus  was  rather  worn  out  by  her  London  experience, 
I  went  alone.  There  were  several  other  neighbors, 
Mr.  Frank  H.  Platt  and  Mr.  Frank  Trumbull  and  per 
haps  one  other,  about  eight  of  us,  of  whom  Mrs.  Van 
derlip  was  the  only  lady. 

Bernstorff  I  had  known  for  a  number  of  years.  I  had 
first  met  him  in  1888  when  I  was  on  my  first  mission  to 
Turkey  and  he  was  attache  of  the  German  embassy. 
Later  he  came  to  Washington  as  ambassador  when  I  was 
in  the  Cabinet,  and  we  met  frequently  there. 

The  conversation  at  dinner  was  general,  although  it 
was  inevitable  that  we  discuss  the  war.  Bernstorff  voiced 
the  usual  claim  of  the  Germans,  that  they  did  not  want 
war,  and  that  the  Kaiser  and  the  German  Government 
stood  for  peace.  When  he  had  dilated  upon  that  theme  I 
asked  him: 

"Is  that  the  present  sentiment  and  attitude  of  your 
country?" 

He  replied  that  it  certainly  was  when  he  left  Berlin 
only  two  weeks  before,  on  returning  to  America  from  his 
leave  of  absence. 

Knowing  how  anxious  President  Wilson  was  to  use  any 
proper  opportunity  that  might  present  itself  for  ending 
the  war,  I  asked  Bernstorff  whether  his  Government 
would  entertain  a  proposition  for  mediation. 

He  answered  me  promptly:  "Speaking  for  myself,  I 
certainly  would  entertain  such  a  proposition."  But  he 
added  that  he  could  not  speak  officially,  since  cable  com- 


COUNT  VON  BERNSTORFF  379 

mimication  with  his  Government  had  been  cut  off  for  a 
week  or  more. 

I  asked  him  whether  in  his  opinion  his  Government 
would  give  favorable  consideration  to  such  a  proposal. 
He  said  that  before  leaving,  Berlin  he  had  discussed  with 
the  Chancellor  the  possibility  of  mediation,  following 
the  report  of  President  Wilson's  statement  that  he  was 
ready  to  offer  his  services  as  mediator  to  both  parties,  and 
the  Chancellor  had  said  that  the  war  had  but  begun  and 
it  was  too  early  to  instruct  regarding  mediation  until  the 
offer  was  presented.  On  my  questioning  him  further,  the 
ambassador  said  his  personal  opinion  was  that  his  Gov 
ernment  would  accept  an  offer  of  mediation.  I  remarked 
that  I  could  not  but  regard  his  statement  as  significant, 
and  asked  him  if  I  might  use  it  in  such  a  manner  as  I  saw 
fit.  He  replied  that  he  had  no  objection. 

As  we  rose  from  the  table,  I  made  sure  of  my  under 
standing  of  his  statements,  and  then  the  thought  occurred 
to  me  that  the  best  thing  to  do  was  to  report  the  conver 
sation  to  Secretary  of  State  Bryan,  so  that  he  might,  if 
he  saw  fit,  bring  it  before  the  President.  I  so  informed 
Bernstorff,  and  again  he  told  me  he  had  no  objection. 

I  looked  at  my  watch.  It  was  ten-fifteen.  I  announced 
that  I  would  go  to  Washington  on  the  midnight  train. 
My  host  suggested  that  I  "sleep  on  it  and  don't  hurry"; 
but  I  concluded  that  if  there  was  anything  I  could  do  to 
shorten  the  war  by  even  a  few  hours  I  would  have  to  charge 
myself  with  neglect  of  duty  if  on  account  of  personal 
convenience  I  had  refrained  from  doing  so.  The  next  day 
was  Sunday;  the  day  after  was  Labor  Day;  and  all  the 
while  thousands  were  falling  on  the  battlefield.  Several 
of  the  guests  agreed  with  my  decision,  so  I  bade  them 
good-night,  called  my  motor,  and  caught  the  midnight 
train  for  Washington. 


380       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Sunday  morning  I  telephoned  to  Mr.  Bryan  at  once 
and  made  an  appointment  to  meet  him  at  his  home.  I 
repeated  my  conversation  with  Bernstorff  precisely  as  it 
had  occurred,  and  Bryan  believed,  as  I  did,  that  it  might 
pave  the  way  to  mediation.  I  suggested  that  he  have  the 
German  ambassador  come  to  Washington  and  speak  with 
him.  He  communicated  with  the  German  embassy,  and 
Bernstorff  arrived  the  following  morning. 

Bryan  presented  the  subject  to  the  President,  who  ex 
pressed  himself  as  pleased  with  the  possibility  of  a  fa 
vorable  outcome.  The  Secretary  advised  me  to  have  a 
conference  with  the  British  ambassador,  Sir  Cecil  Spring- 
Rice,  and  with  the  French  ambassador,  M.  Jusserand. 
He  had  already  informed  them  what  had  taken  place  and 
of  my  presence  in  Washington.  Sir  Cecil  asked  whether 
I  would  kindly  come  to  the  embassy,  and  I  replied  I 
would  do  so,  and  suggested  that  he  arrange  to  have  the 
French  ambassador  also  present.  This  he  did. 

When  I  reached  the  embassy,  M.  Jusserand  had  not 
yet  arrived,  and  Sir  Cecil  and  I  indulged  in  reminiscences. 
He  too  had  been  in  Constantinople  during  my  first  mis 
sion,  as  secretary  of  the  British  embassy.  Soon  we  were 
joined  by  M.  Jusserand,  whom  also  I  had  known  well  for 
many  years,  for  he  had  been  in  Washington  since  1902, 
and  I  had  seen  much  of  him  during  my  Cabinet  days. 

When  we  took  up  the  proposal  regarding  which  we  had 
come  together,  both  of  these  gentlemen  agreed  that  it  was 
deserving  of  serious  attention,  but  Sir  Cecil  had  little 
confidence  in  Bernstorff,  who  had  been  his  colleague  at 
Cairo,  where  they  had  represented  their  respective  Gov 
ernments.  He  asked  whether  I  thought  an  ambassador 
would  make  such  a  statement  as  Bernstorff's  without 
authority  from  his  Government.  I  replied  that  both  he 
and  M.  Jusserand  were  better  qualified  to  answer  that 


MEDIATION  INTERVIEWS  381 

question,  upon  which  M.  Jusserand  said  that  he  knew 
that  no  ambassador  under  the  German  system  would  dare 
make  such  remarks  without  previous  authority  from  his 
Government. 

"That  is  so  much  the  better,"  I  commented. 

Sir  Cecil  declared  that  German  diplomacy  was  peculiar 
and  that  the  Foreign  Office  had  no  conscience  in  disavow 
ing  statements  by  its  ambassadors  if  it  suited  Germany's 
purpose. 

After  we  had  gone  over  the  whole  subject,  both  am 
bassadors  stated  that  if  it  held  one  chance  in  a  hundred 
of  shortening  the  war,  it  was  their  duty  to  entertain  it. 
I  replied  that  I  hoped  they  would  entertain  it  cordially. 

Jusserand  in  his  usual  happy  manner  said,  " '  Cordially,' 
that  is  a  little  too  strong." 

"Well,  sympathetically,  then,"  I  said. 

"Yes,  sympathetically,  yes. "  And  with  that  we  parted, 
both  ambassadors  expressing  their  thanks  and  apprecia 
tion  of  my  services. 

I  had  been  scrupulously  careful  to  be  absolutely  accu 
rate  in  all  my  statements,  and  it  was  therefore  gratify 
ing,  after  the  Bryan-Bernstorff  conference,  to  have  the 
Secretary  tell  me  that  the  ambassador's  report  of  the 
Scarboro  incident  was  in  every  detail  in  accord  with  mine, 
and  to  have  the  ambassador  also  confirm  the  correctness 
of  Mr.  Bryan's  understanding  from  my  report.  Natu 
rally  I  was  anxious  to  avoid  misunderstandings  or  mis 
conceptions  of  any  kind.  The  issue  was  too  important. 

Both  Secretary  Bryan  and  Ambassador  Bernstorff 
cabled  to  Berlin,  and  for  the  time  the  subject  rested  there. 
My  remaining  in  Washington  was  unnecessary,  and  I 
returned  to  New  York.  But  before  leaving,  I  called  by 
appointment  at  both  the  French  and  British  embassies, 
which  also  had  communicated  events  in  detail  to  their 


382       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Governments.  Both  ambassadors  expressed  their  high 
appreciation  for  my  services  and  hoped  I  would  keep  in 
close  touch  with  them  regarding  the  matter,  both  for 
their  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  our  respective  Governments. 
I  told  them  I  would  regard  myself  as  "messenger  boy" 
for  mediation.  Sir  Cecil  replied,  "Ambassador  extraor 
dinary."  He  promised  to  keep  me  informed,  and  two 
days  later  wrote  me: 

I  have  not  yet  received  any  intimation  from  my  Govern 
ment,  nor  do  I  expect  one  unless  something  definite  is  before 
them.  But  I  need  not  tell  you  how  heartily  my  sympathy  is 
with  your  humanitarian  efforts,  and  you  know  Grey  well 
enough  to  be  sure  that,  while  scrupulously  faithful  to  all  his 
engagements,  he  wi  I  do  everything  possible  in  the  cause  of 
peace. 

Throughout  these  negotiations  we  took  great  care  to 
keep  the  matter  secret.  Despite  that  fact  it  leaked  out  in 
some  way,  and  the  correspondent  of  the  London  "  Times  " 
reported  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  impression  that 
I  had  been  duped  by  the  wily  German  ambassador;  and 
there  were  one  or  two  other  papers  which  took  that  view. 
Sir  Cecil  Spring-Rice  was  incensed  at  this  interpretation 
and  wrote  me  on  October  3d: 

I  am  sure  no  one  who  knows  you  and  knows  the  facts  would 
ever  think  that  you  were  either  duped  or  the  secret  agent  of 
Germany.  I  am  quite  positive  that  Sir  Edward  Grey  would 
never  have  such  an  idea.  What  you  did  —  and  what  I  hope  you 
will  continue  to  do  —  is  a  work  of  pure  philanthropy. 

On  October  15th  he  wrote  me  again  on  this  subject, 
saying  that  when  the  London  "Times"  representative 
returned  to  Washington  from  New  York,  he  would  set 
him  right  as  to  the  facts  with  a  view  to  having  the  report 
corrected,  and  adding: 


A  LETTER  FROM  SIR  EDWARD  GREY    383 

We  used  to  say  at  school, "  Blessed  are  the  peace  makers,  for 
they  get  more  kicks  than  half -pence!  "  It  represents  a  melan 
choly  truth,  but,  however,  I  am  sure  every  well-thinking  person 
must  appreciate  your  beneficent  efforts. 

But  in  general  the  press  of  Great  Britain  expressed  its 
appreciation  of  the  services  I  had  rendered  in  lifting  the 
latch  of  the  door  to  mediation. 

A  letter  from  Sir  Edward  Grey  concerning  the  negoti 
ations  sheds  important  light  upon  the  British  attitude : 

FOREIGN  OFFICE,  LONDON,  S.W. 
Saturday,  26  September,  1914 
DEAR  MR.  STRAUS: 

Thank  you  for  your  letter  of  the  9th.  I  am  so  busy  that  I 
have  not  time  to  write  at  any  length;  but  do  not  let  that  make 
you  suppose  that  I  am  out  of  sympathy  with  what  you  say. 

First  of  all,  however,  we  must  save  ourselves  and  the  West 
of  Europe,  before  we  can  exercise  any  influence  elsewhere.  The 
Prussian  military  caste  has  dominated  Germany,  and  the  whole 
of  the  West  of  Europe  is  in  danger  of  being  dominated  by  it. 
The  German  Government,  in  the  hands  of  this  military  caste, 
prepared  this  war,  planned  it,  and  chose  the  time  for  it.  We 
know  now  that  the  war  has  revealed  how  thoroughly  the  Ger 
man  preparations  had  been  made  beforehand:  with  an  organi 
zation  and  forethought  which  is  wonderful,  and  would  have 
been  admirable  had  it  been  devoted  to  a  praiseworthy  pur 
pose.  Not  one  of  the  other  nations  now  fighting  against  Ger 
many  is  prepared  in  the  same  way. 

Now,  we  wish  to  have  three  things:  Firstly,  to  secure  our  own 
liberty  as  independent  States,  who  will  live  and  let  live  on  equal 
terms;  secondly,  the  establishment  somehow  of  a  Germany  not 
dominated  by  a  military  caste;  a  nation  who  will  look  at  liberty 
and  politics  from  the  same  point  of  view  as  we  do,  and  who 
will  deal  with  us  on  equal  terms  and  in  good  faith;  thirdly, 
reparation  for  the  cruel  wrongs  done  to  Belgium;  to  get  that  is 
a  matter  of  honour  and  justice  and  right. 

The  statements  made  by  Wolff's  Bureau  in  Europe  deny  that 
Germany  is  yet  ready  for  peace.  If  she  is  ready  for  peace,  then 
I  think  that  her  ambassador  in  Washington  ought  not  to  beat 


384       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

about  the  bush.  He  ought  to  make  it  clear  to  President  Wilson 
that  he  is  authorized  to  speak  on  behalf  of  his  Government;  and 
state  to  the  President  that  Germany  does  wish  to  make  peace. 
In  that  case,  President  Wilson  could  approach  all  the  others 
who  are  engaged  in  this  war  and  bring  them  into  consultation 
with  .one  another  and  with  him.  But  at  present  we  have  no 
indication  that  Germany  wishes  to  have  peace,  and  no  indica 
tion  that  she  would  agree  to  any  terms  that  would  give  repara 
tion  to  Belgium  and  security  to  the  rest  of  Europe  that  the 
peace  would  be  durable. 

Yours  very  truly 

E.  GREY 

The  history  of  those  negotiations  is  presented  some 
what  at  length  because  my  friend  of  many  years,  the  late 
Ambassador  Page,  in  his  recently  published  letters  also 
expressed  the  feeling  that  I  had  been  used  as  a  dupe  to 
throw  the  blame  for  continuing  the  war  upon  Great 
Britain,  though  he  expressed  great  confidence  in  me  and 
friendship  for  me.  I  may  say  I  was  not  unmindful  of 
this  contingency;  but  I  felt  that  if  the  negotiations  did 
not  result  as  we  hoped,  they  would  serve  to  expose  the  in 
sincerity  of  the  German  Government  with  regard  to  its 
peace  professions.  And  this  is  precisely  what  happened, 
as  the  answer  of  the  German  Chancellor,  received  by  the 
State  Department  on  September  22d,  confirms: 

The  Imperial  Chancellor  is  much  obliged  for  America's 
offer.  Germany  did  not  want  war,  it  was  forced  upon  her. 
Even  after  we  shall  have  defeated  France  we  shall  still  have  to 
face  England  and  Russia.  England,  France,  and  Russia  have 
signed  a  convention  to  make  peace  solely  in  mutual  agreement 
with  each  other.  England,  that  is,  Mr.  Asquith,  the  London 
Times,  and  English  diplomatic  officers,  have  on  various  oc 
casions  .  .  .  [sic]  that  England  is  determined  to  conduct  the  war 
to  the  utmost  and  that  she  expects  success  from  it  lasting  a  long 
time.  It  is  therefore  up  to  the  United  States  to  get  our  enemies 
to  make  peace  proposals.  Germany  can  only  accept  the  peace 


GERMANY'S  INSINCERITY  385 

which  promises  to  be  a  real  and  lasting  peace  and  will  protect 
her  against  any  new  attacks  from  her  enemies.  If  we  accepted 
America's  offer  of  mediation  now  our  enemies  would  interpret  it 
as  a  sign  of  weakness  and  the  German  people  would  not  under 
stand  it.  For  the  nation  which  has  been  willing  to  make  such 
sacrifices  has  a  right  to  demand  that  there  shall  be  guarantees 
of  rest  and  security. 

Secretary  Bryan,  in  his  instruction  to  Ambassador 
Page  on  September  8th,  had  anticipated  Germany's 
refusal  to  accept  mediation.  The  instruction  concluded: 

We  do  not  know,  of  course,  what  reply  the  German  Emperor 
will  make,  but  this  war  is  so  horrible  from  every  aspect  that  no 
one  can  afford  to  take  the  responsibility  for  continuing  it  im 
placably.  The  British  and  French  ambassadors  fear  that  Ger 
many  will  not  accept  any  reasonable  terms,  but  even  a  failure  to 
agree  will  not  rob  an  attempt  at  mediation  of  all  its  advantages 
because  the  different  nations  would  be  able  to  explain  to  the 
world  their  attitude,  the  reasons  for  continuing  the  war,  the  end 
to  be  hoped  for  and  the  terms  upon  which  peace  is  possible. 
This  would  locate  the  responsibility  for  the  continuance  of  the 
war  and  help  to  mould  public  opinion.  Will  notify  you  as  soon 
as  answer  is  received  from  Bernstorff . 

On  September  29th  all  the  British  papers  served  by  the 
Central  News  War  Service  carried  a  cable  from  New  York 
detailing  the  negotiations,  which  ended: 

It  is  believed  by  those  concerned  that  an  important  step  has 
been  taken  to  pave  the  way  for  mediation,  when  the  opportune 
moment  arrives.  In  other  words,  the  bolt  on  the  door  of  media 
tion  has  been  thrown  back  so  that  it  will  be  possible  for  the  door 
to  be  opened  without  either  side  being  forced  to  take  the  initia 
tive.  Time  will  doubtless  show  that  the  initiative  so  fortuitously 
taken  by  Mr.  Straus  will  prove  of  real  service  in  the  interests  of 
ultimate  peace  negotiations,  and  any  endeavors  to  deprecate 
those  services  as  having  been  made  in  Germany's  interests  are 
not  only  contrary  to  all  the  facts,  but  are  most  unfortunate. 

Note:  The  censor  does  not  object  to  the  publication  of  the 
foregoing  details,  but  insists  that  publication  should  be  ac- 


386       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

companied  by  a  footnote  pointing  out  that  since  these  occur 
rences  took  place  the  German  Government  have  disavowed 
their  ambassador. 

Had  Germany's  oft -reiterated  peace  professions  been 
sincere,  she  would  have  accepted  this  offer  for  mediation. 
By  her  refusal  the  falsity  of  her  professions  was  exposed 
not  only  in  Great  Britain  and  in  our  own  country,  but 
in  all  the  neutral  countries;  and  the  exposS  served  as 
added  proof  to  all  peace-loving  and  neutrally-minded 
persons  that  the  responsibility  for  the  war  and  its  con 
tinuance  rested  upon  the  German  Government. 

In  America  many  of  us  continued  to  hope  that  some 
way  might  be  found  to  bring  the  representatives  of  the 
warring  nations  into  a  conference,  thereby  removing  mis 
understanding  and  misconception  and  paving  the  way 
for  an  early  peace.  On  December  31st  the  New  York 
representative  of  the  Central  News  of  London  asked 
several  Americans  to  write  New  Year's  messages  to  the 
warring  nations  of  Europe,  to  be  cabled  to  all  the  chief 
newspapers  of  the  continent.  Messages  were  given  by 
Dr.  Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Andrew  Carnegie,  Bishop 
David  Greer,  and  myself,  and  they  were  all  substantially 
of  the  same  tenor,  as  a  passage  from  each  will  show: 

Bishop  Greer:  It  is  the  earnest  hope  and  prayer  of  all  Chris 
tian  people  in  America  that  the  awful  and  deplorable  war  now 
raging  may  soon  reach  an  end  which  will  insure  lasting  peace 
and  one  satisfactory  in  character  to  all  the  nations  involved. 

Andrew  Carnegie:  I  am  convinced  that  the  next  effort  of 
lovers  of  peace  should  be  to  concentrate  the  world  over  in  de 
manding  that  this  unparalleled  slaughter  of  man  by  man  shall 
be  the  last  war  waged  by  civilized  nations  for  the  settlement  of 
international  disputes.  War  dethroned  —  Peace  enthroned. 

President  Butler:  May  it  be  in  America's  fortunate  lot  to 
bind  up  the  wounds  of  the  war  and  to  set  the  feet  of  her  sister 


MESSAGES  TO  WARRING  NATIONS      387 

nations  once  more  in  the  paths  of  peace,  international  good-will 
and  constructive  statesmanship. 

I  said :  For  the  past  five  months  each  of  the  nations  has  been 
seeking  victory  in  the  trenches  of  death;  but  it  has  not  been 
found  there.  Only  through  wise  counsels  can  the  victory  of 
permanent  peace  be  obtained.  President  Wilson  and  His  Holi 
ness  the  Pope  have  offered  their  offices  to  open  the  door  of 
mediation.  Will  not  the  Kaiser  and  King  George  give  the  man 
date  so  that  the  door  may  be  opened  and  this  delusion  be  dis 
pelled,  thereby  earning  the  blessings  of  a  bleeding  and  suffering 
world? 

These  statements  are  cited  as  evidence  of  how  slowly 
we  in  America  came  to  realize  the  ruthless  designs  for 
conquest  which  the  German  militarists  had  prepared  and 
fostered  for  forty  years,  not  only  strategically,  but  even 
in  shaping  the  psychology  of  the  child  in  school  and  the 
man  in  the  street  to  conform  to  their  design. 

For  a  year  or  more  events  marched  on,  tragically,  like 
a  malignant  disease.  On  February  2, 1917, 1  lunched  with 
Roosevelt  at  the  Hotel  Langdon,  on  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Fifty-Sixth  Street,  where  Roosevelt  was  in  the  habit  of 
stopping  when  in  New  York.  The  German  Government 
two  days  before  had  announced  her  submarine  blockade 
of  the  British,  French,  and  Dutch  coasts,  and  our  own 
entrance  into  the  war  seemed  likely. 

We  were  discussing  the  crisis,  and  Roosevelt  said  he  did 
not  think  we  should  be  involved;  the  President  would 
probably  find  some  way  out  and  arrange  to  have  Ger 
many's  pledge,  not  to  destroy  merchant  ships  of  neutrals 
or  belligerents  without  warning,  whittled  down  so  as  to 
apply  only  to  ships  flying  the  American  flag.  He  told  us 
that  he  had  engaged  passage  on  one  of  the  United  Fruit 
Company  steamers  to  Jamaica  for  Mrs.  Roosevelt  and 
himself.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  needed  a  change,  and  they  would 
start  in  a  few  days.  Regarding  the  war,  he  could  do  noth- 


388       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ing  more.  He  had  done  all  he  could.  He  had  made  an  offer 
to  the  Secretary  of  War  to  raise  a  division,  and  had  a 
whole  card  catalogue  of  names  of  men  who  had  volun 
teered  to  serve  in  it. 

His  relations  with  the  President  were  far  from  friendly. 
He  had  violently  criticized  him  in  articles  contributed  to 
the  "Metropolitan  Magazine"  and  in  several  public  ad 
dresses  had  urged  preparedness  and  compulsory  military 
training.  I  asked  him,  in  view  of  the  German  blockade, 
what  he  would  do  if  he  were  President.  He  said  he  would 
promptly  assemble  our  fleet,  put  marines  on  the  interned 
German  ships,  and  show  Germany  that  we  were  in  dead 
earnest;  that  unless  she  recalled  her  decision  to  sink 
merchant  ships  without  observing  the  rules  of  modern 
warfare  we  should  take  immediate  steps  to  protect  our 
rights. 

"If  we  continue  to  back  down  we  will  become  China- 
fied,  without  any  rights  that  other  nations  will  respect," 
said  Roosevelt  emphatically. 

In  such  critical  times,  personal  differences  might  be 
laid  aside,  I  suggested,  and  I  wanted  him  to  write  the 
President  and  let  him  have  the  benefit  of  his  views.  I 
went  further:  I  suggested  that  I  could  write  the  President 
about  it.  But  in  Roosevelt's  opinion,  Wilson  would  con 
clude  that  Roosevelt  had  himself  urged  me  to  do  this 
because  of  my  close  association  with  Roosevelt. 

My  own  relations  with  the  President  were  always  agree 
able,  I  might  even  say  most  friendly.  He  had  written  me 
sometime  before,  that  he  would  consider  it  a  favor  if  I 
would  keep  him  informed  of  developments  that  came 
under  my  observation  regarding  important  matters.  It 
occurred  to  me  that  on  the  eve  of  war  it  would  be  a  fine 
thing  if  he  consulted  with  his  two  surviving  predeces 
sors,  as  Monroe  had  done  in  consulting  with  Jefferson 


AMERICA  ENTERS  THE  WAR  389 

and  Madison  before  issuing  the  doctrine  which  bears  his 
name.  In  the  crisis  we  were  facing  such  a  step  would  allay 
partisan  differences  and  serve  to  solidify  the  Nation. 
With  these  ideas  in  mind  I  sent  the  President  the  follow 
ing  telegram: 

Every  patriotic  American  should  support  you  in  this  great 
crisis  in  the  history  of  our  country.  May  I  suggest  the  course 
followed  by  Monroe  under  a  crisis  involving  many  of  the  same 
principles,  to  confer  with  the  two  surviving  ex-Presidents, 
whose  advice,  I  feel  sure,  will  be  most  helpful  and  serve  to 
patriotically  solidify  the  country  behind  you? 

I  informed  Roosevelt  of  my  action.  He  felt  sure  the 
President  wanted  neither  advice  nor  cooperation,  though 
he  himself  was  ready  to  give  him  the  fullest  cooperation 
should  Wilson  desire  it.  He  thought  the  same  was  true  on 
the  part  of  Mr.  Taft.  The  telegram,  to  my  surprise,  was 
given  out  at  Washington  to  the  press  a  day  or  two  later, 
but  nothing  ever  came  of  it. 

On  February  7th  the  country  was  more  or  less  agree 
ably  surprised  by  the  fact  that  Count  von  Bernstorff  had 
been  given  his  passports  and  Ambassador  Gerard  at 
Berlin  had  been  instructed  to  demand  his.  I  say  the 
country  was  surprised  because  the  President  had  so  long 
delayed  and  avoided  such  a  step  —  even  after  the  sinking 
of  the  Lusitania  and  the  Sussex  following  his  "strict  ac 
countability  "  and  other  strong  statements  —  that  it  was 
generally  believed  he  did  not  mean  to  take  it. 

Roosevelt,  of  course,  thought  that  we  should  have 
taken  such  action  long  before.  His  contention  was  always 
that  had  we  taken  prompt  and  decisive  steps  after  the 
Lusitania  tragedy,  we  should  have  been  spared  the  sub 
marine  invasions.  In  fact,  he  thought  we  should  have 
acted  when  Germany  announced  her  submarine  blockade 
and  possibly  saved  ourselves  from  the  Lusitania  horror. 


390       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Now  that  diplomatic  relations  were  broken  off,  he  can 
celed  his  trip  to  Jamaica,  not  wishing  to  be  out  of  the 
country  when  war  was  likely  to  be  declared  at  any  mo 
ment. 

At  about  this  time  the  impression  was  current  that  the 
Jews  of  America  were  anti-Ally,  a  fact  that  had  a  prejudi 
cial  effect  in  France  and  England.  It  probably  grew  out 
of  the  fact  that  three  of  the  largest  Jewish  banking  houses 
of  the  country  were  of  German  origin,  and  further  that 
the  Yiddish  press  was  anti-Russian  in  its  sympathies  as  a 
result  of  the  treatment  of  Jews  in  Russia. 

After  a  careful  investigation  of  these  reports,  a  group 
of  us  met  at  the  home  of  Eugene  Meyer,  Jr.,  later  chair 
man  of  the  War  Finance  Corporation.  Among  those  I 
recall  at  this  meeting  were:  Fabian  Franklin,  of  the  "New 
York  Evening  Post";  George  L.  Beer,  the  historian; 
Rabbi  Stephen  S.  Wise;  Professor  Richard  Gottheil,  of 
Columbia  University.  M.  Stephane  Lauzanne,  editor  of 
"Le  Matin"  of  Paris,  and  Professor  Henri  Bergson,  both 
of  whom  were  then  in  New  York,  had  also  been  consulted. 
It  was  decided  that  the  most  practical  way  of  correcting 
this  erroneous  impression  was  for  me  to  write  to  the 
French  and  British  ambassadors  at  Washington. 

Accordingly  I  wrote  to  Ambassadors  Spring-Rice  and 
Jusserand  that  the  impression  was  unfounded,  that  our 
investigations  and  observations  showed  a  large  prepon 
derance  of  pro- Ally  sympathy  among  the  Jews,  and  I  cited 
a  number  of  leading  citizens  in  business  and  the  various 
professions,  who  were  representative  of  their  class,  whom 
I  knew  personally  to  be  pro-Ally.  I  stated  further  that  in 
one  of  the  largest  Jewish  clubs,  whose  membership  con 
sisted  almost  entirely  of  Jews  of  German  origin,  the  pro- 
Ally  sentiment  was  so  strong  as  to  be  practically  unani 
mous. 


JEWS  OF  AMERICA  PRO -ALLY          391 

The  ambassadors  were  grateful  for  this  information, 
which  they  communicated  to  their  Governments;  and 
through  the  agency  of  M.  Lauzanne  and  with  the  consent 
of  the  ambassadors,  the  letters  were  given  in  full  to  the 
French  and  British  press. 

On  the  very  day  that  Congress  declared  war  against 
Germany,  April  6,  1917,  we  were  giving  a  dinner  at  our 
home  to  Professor  Henri  Bergson.  Among  our  guests 
were  James  M.  Beck,  author  of  "The  Evidence  in  the 
Case"  and  "The  War  and  Humanity";  ex-Senator  Bur 
ton  of  Ohio;  former  Governor  and  Mrs.  John  M.  Slaton, 
of  Georgia;  Adolph  S.  Ochs,  of  the  "New  York  Times," 
and  Mrs.  Ochs.  Bergson  was  regarded  as  the  unofficial 
representative  of  France  in  our  country  at  the  time.  Of 
course,  our  thoughts  and  conversation  were  dominated 
by  the  great  event  of  the  day.  Professor  Bergson  and  Mr. 
Beck  drank  and  responded  to  toasts  with  eloquent  fervor. 
It  was  felt  by  all  that  the  entrance  into  the  war  of  the 
United  States  would  prove  a  decided  factor  in  winning  it 
for  democracy  and  constitutional  liberty. 

Just  before  Christmas,  1918  —  to  be  specific,  on  De 
cember  22d  —  I  called  on  Roosevelt  at  the  Roosevelt 
Hospital,  where  he  was  convalescing  from  his  seven  weeks' 
illness,  believed  to  have  been  inflammatory  rheumatism. 
He  was  dressed  in  his  robe  de  chambre  and  was  seated  in  an 
armchair  with  a  pile  of  books  before  him.  He  looked  nei 
ther  enfeebled  nor  emaciated,  though  he  showed  signs  of 
illness.  When  I  asked  him  how  he  had  been  since  my  last 
visit,  for  I  had  called  on  him  frequently  during  his  illness, 
he  told  me  that  he  had  had  an  attack  of  embolism  — 
I  think  that  was  the  ailment  —  which  showed  in  his 
wrists,  and  that  his  fever  had  gone  up  to  104.  But  that 
was  all  gone  and  he  was  again  feeling  fine.  He  was  plan- 


392       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

ning  to  return  to  Sagamore  Hill  to  spend  Christmas, 
which  he  subsequently  did. 

He  inquired  particularly  about  my  son  Roger,  of  whom 
he  was  very  fond,  and  who  was  then  in  Siberia,  where  he 
had  served  for  some  months  as  captain  and  assistant  in 
telligence  officer  on  the  staff  of  General  William  S.  Graves, 
in  command  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces.  I 
told  him  we  had  had  a  cable  from  Roger  from  Blagove- 
schensk  that  he  was  well.  In  his  last  letter  he  had  ex 
pressed  a  desire  to  come  home,  since  the  war  was  over. 
Roosevelt  agreed  that  that  was  right.  He  would  not  want 
his  own  sons  to  endanger  their  lives  in  the  civil  war  raging 
in  Russia,  and  he  would  not  have  Roger  do  so.  "Let  the 
Russians  settle  their  own  internal  affairs;  that  is  not  our 
business,"  he  added. 

By  way  of  amusing  and  interesting  Roosevelt,  I  told 
him  of  a  curious  incident  narrated  in  one  of  Roger's  let 
ters.  He  had  been  sent  as  the  official  representative  of  the 
army  into  the  Amur  Province,  of  which  the  governor  was 
Alexandre  Alexiefsky,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Assembly  of  the  Kerensky  Government. 
When  Roger  called,  the  governor  repeated  his  name  famil 
iarly  and  then  asked:  "Are  you  related  to  His  Excellency 
by  that  name  in  the  Cabinet  of  President  Roosevelt?" 
When  Roger  told  him  he  was  my  son,  the  governor  im 
mediately  expressed  a  readiness  to  help  him  in  every  pos 
sible  way,  because  as  the  latter  said  he  owed  his  life  to 
me.  As  Roger  expressed  it,  "He  was  courteous  before, 
but  after  that  he  was  ready  to  give  me  his  undershirt." 

Alexiefsky  had  told  Roger  the  story  of  his  case.  In  the 
autumn  of  1908,  several  Russians  whom  the  Czar  had 
exiled  to  Siberia  as  political  prisoners  made  their  escape 
and  came  to  the  United  States.  The  Russian  Govern 
ment  discovered  this  and  engaged  one  of  the  leading  New 


ROGER  W.  STRAUS 

First  Lieutenant,  afterwards  Captain,  on  the  Staff  of  General  W.  S. 

Graves,  American  Expeditionary  Force  in  Siberia.  Now  Major  in  the 

Reserve  Corps,  U.  S.  A. 


FINAL  VISITS  WITH  ROOSEVELT       393 

York  law  firms  to  secure  the  extradition  of  the  refugees, 
which  was  demanded  on  the  specious  charge  of  murder. 
Secretary  Root,  in  the  midst  of  his  many  important  du 
ties,  favored  the  extradition,  and  the  papers  were  referred 
by  the  State  Department  to  Attorney-General  Bonaparte. 
Application  for  deportation  was  also  made  to  me  under 
the  immigration  laws. 

Meanwhile  several  prominent  men  and  women  inter 
ested  in  the  case  —  Miss  Lillian  Wald,  of  the  Henry  Street 
Settlement  House,  New  York,  and  James  Bronson  Rey 
nolds,  chairman  of  the  American  Society  for  Russian 
Freedom,  foremost  among  these  —  supplied  the  intelli 
gence  and  the  proof  that  these  men  were  not  criminals  in 
any  sense,  but  political  refugees.  When  Roosevelt  spoke 
to  me  about  them,  I  told  him  that  I  had  declined  to  de 
port  them  because  it  was  clear  to  me  that  they  were 
political  refugees.  At  that  moment  Bonaparte  joined  us. 
Roosevelt  requested  him  to  return  the  papers  in  the  case, 
and  shortly  directed  that  the  men  were  not  to  be  deported. 

Roosevelt  said  he  vividly  recalled  all  this.  His  face 
beamed  as  he  said:  "Isn't  that  fine!  Very  fine!  I'm 
delighted  to  hear  it!" 

"You  did  that,"  I  said  to  him;  "without  your  sustain 
ing  me  these  men  would  have  been  either  extradited  or 
deported,  which  would  have  meant  death." 

"Both  of  us  did  it;  it 's  fine!  I'm  delighted  to  hear  it," 
he  commented,  his  face  glowing  with  its  usual  vivacity. 

The  next  day  Roosevelt  left  the  hospital  to  return  to 
his  home  in  Oyster  Bay.  He  apparently  gave  every  in 
dication  that  soon  he  would  be  entirely  well  again  and  be 
with  us  for  many  years.  Certainly  that  is  what  we  all 
expected.  He  was  only  sixty. 

Exactly  two  weeks  later,  on  January  6, 1919, 1  received 
a  telephone  call  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  from  Miss 


394       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Striker,  secretary  to  Mr.  Roosevelt,  announcing  that  he 
had  died  early  that  morning.  For  thirteen  years  or  more 
he  had  had  a  large  and  affectionate  share  in  our  lives  and 
thoughts,  and  Mrs.  Straus  and  I  felt  as  though  we  had 
been  stricken  with  the  loss  of  a  member  of  our  immediate 
family.  I  can  truly  say  that  I  never  had  a  more  loyal  or  a 
dearer  friend.  He  always  treated  me  and  mine  as  if  we 
were  among  his  nearest  relatives. 

On  January  8th  my  wife,  my  son's  wife,  and  I  motored 
to  Oyster  Bay  to  attend  the  funeral  in  the  little  Episcopal 
Church.  It  had  been  Roosevelt's  wish  that  he  be  buried 
from  the  little  church  that  was  the  place  of  worship  of  his 
family.  The  building  held  only  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  persons,  so  that  none  but  his  family  and  close  friends 
could  be  present.  There  was  a  committee  from  the  United 
States  Senate  headed  by  Vice-President  Marshall;  a  com 
mittee  from  the  House;  several  former  members  of  the 
Cabinet  —  Elihu  Root,  Truman  H.  Newberry,  Henry 
L.  Stimson,  James  R.  Garfield,  Mrs.  Garfield,  ex-Presi 
dent  Taft,  Governor  Hughes.  William  Loeb,  Jr.,  and 
Captain  Archie  Roosevelt  were  ushers.  The  other  sons, 
Theodore  and  Kermit,  were  still  in  France.  The  church 
was  filled  with  a  company  of  sincere  friends  and  bereaved 
mourners.  The  regular  Episcopal  service  was  begun  at 
twelve-forty-five,  and  lasted  about  twenty-five  minutes, 
when  we  all  accompanied  the  body  to  the  little  cemetery 
on  the  side  of  the  hill  half  a  mile  away. 

Hardly  a  day  passes  without  its  scores  of  pilgrims  to 
that  grave.  They  come  from  near  and  far.  Many  lay 
flowers  on  the  grave.  On  holidays  and  Sundays  they  come 
by  the  hundreds.  Two  years  ago  the  intimate  friends  of 
Roosevelt,  who  had  been  officially  or  personally  associ 
ated  with  him,  formed  the  Roosevelt  Pilgrimage,  an  as 
sociation  whose  purpose  is  to  keep  alive  the  ideals  and 


PILGRIMS  TO  SAGAMORE  HILL         395 

personality  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  by  an  annual  visit  to 
his  grave  and  a  simple  ceremony.  The  idea  and  organ 
ization  originated  with  Mr.  E.  A.  Van  Valkenburg  of 
the  Philadelphia  "  North  American. "  On  January  6, 1922, 
some  sixty  persons  made  the  pilgrimage,  headed  by  Dr. 
Lyman  Abbott,  permanent  chairman  of  the  association. 
James  R.  Garfield  read  Roosevelt's  Nobel  Peace  Prize 
address,  delivered  in  Christiania  in  1910,  at  the  conclu 
sion  of  which  some  wreaths  were  laid  on  the  grave.  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  invited  us  all  to  luncheon,  and  the  old-time 
hospitality  and  friendliness  of  the  Roosevelt  home  brought 
many  memories  of  our  departed  leader. 

After  luncheon  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Pilgrimage 
took  place  in  the  great  North  Room,  where  Roosevelt  had 
so  often  received  his  friends  and  guests.  Dr.  Abbott  made 
a  brief  and  feeling  address,  and  Mrs.  Richard  Derby 
(Ethel  Roosevelt)  read  from  original  manuscript  Roose 
velt's  proclamation  of  1912  which  called  into  being  the 
Progressive  Party.  Hermann  Hagedorn  read  a  poem 
entitled  "The  Deacon's  Prayer,"  by  Samuel  Valentine 
Cole,  which  had  especially  appealed  to  Roosevelt.  The 
last  stanza  of  this  poem  is  as  follows: 

"We  want  a  man  whom  we  can  trust 

To  lead  us  where  thy  purpose  leads; 
Who  dares  not  lie,  but  dares  be  just  — 

Give  us  the  dangerous  man  of  deeds!" 
So  prayed  the  deacon,  letting  fall 

Each  sentence  from  his  heart;  and  when 
He  took  his  seat  the  brethren  all, 

As  by  one  impulse,  cried,  "Amen!" 


CHAPTER  XVI 
PARIS  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

The  League  to  Enforce  Peace  goes  into  action  —  Taf t  recalls  that  Roosevelt 
favored  a  League  of  Nations  —  I  sail  for  Europe  as  chairman  of  the  overseas 
committee  —  England's  youthful  Lord  Chancellor  —  Bryce  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two  —  On  to  Paris  —  Conferences  with  Colonel  House  —  House  de 
clares  that  the  League  of  Nations  is  " on  the  rocks"  —  Bourgeois  comes  to  our 
apartment  —  He  is  persuaded  to  accept  and  support  the  Covenant  as  pro 
visionally  presented  —  Wilson  congratulates  me  —  The  President  addresses 
the  correspondents  —  At  the  Plenary  Session  —  An  imposing  spectacle  — 
Clemenceau  brusquely  opens  the  session  —  President  Wilson  speaks  for  1,200,- 
000,000  people  —  Significance  of  the  term  "Covenant"  —  Bourgeois  accepts 
text  as  drafted,  but  offers  amendments  for  political  effect  —  Japan  voices  her 
ancient  grievance  —  The  golden  chapter  in  the  history  of  civilization  —  Im 
pressions  of  General  Smuts  —  Sir  Robert  Borden  opens  fire  on  Article  X  —  At 
a  Washington's  Birthday  luncheon  with  General  Pershing  —  The  General's 
nervousness  at  prospect  of  having  to  make  a  speech  —  Sazonoff  tells  me  about 
the  Czar  —  A  luncheon  to  Ambassador  Sharp  and  myself  —  Concerning  the 
side-tracking  of  Secretary  Lansing  —  Taft's  efforts  at  home  on  behalf  of  a 
League  of  Nations  —  Conferences  with  Venizelos  —  Serbia's  claims  —  Meeting 
in  London  of  allied  societies  for  a  League  of  Nations  —  Religious  liberty  resolu 
tion  offered  and  adopted  —  I  confer  with  President  Wilson  in  Paris  —  A 
luncheon  with  Russian  refugee  statesmen  —  Excitement  regarding  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  article  —  My  address  at  the  Sorbonne  —  The  Covenant  of  the  League 
of  Nations  —  Colonel  House  urges  me  to  return  to  America  —  Alexander 
Kerensky  —  United  States  Senate  vigorously  debates  the  Covenant — Our 
efforts  to  secure  its  adoption  —  World  policies  are  subordinated  to  home  pol 
itics  —  Conclusion. 

Now  that  the  curtain  of  armistice  had  descended  upon 
the  world's  most  devastating  war,  the  League  to  Enforce 
Peace  was  endeavoring  to  cooperate  in  every  possible  way 
with  President  Wilson  and  the  official  delegates  to  the 
Peace  Conference,  and  with  similar  organizations  in 
Europe,  to  bring  into  existence  a  League  of  Nations. 

I  had  been  made  chairman  of  the  overseas  committee, 
and  on  the  afternoon  of  Theodore  Roosevelt's  funeral, 
former  President  Taft  and  I  met  to  confer  regarding 
the  work  to  be  done.  Both  of  us  were  very  much  de- 


LEAGUE  TO  ENFORCE  PEACE     397 

pressed  by  the  death  of  our  friend.  Taft  felt  grateful  that 
" Theodore"  (as  he  always  called  Roosevelt)  and  he  had 
some  months  earlier  reestablished  their  long-time  former 
friendship,  which  had  unhappily  been  interrupted  by 
political  events. 

Mr.  Taft  courteously  told  me  that  he  was  glad  that  I 
was  going  to  Paris,  and  that  he  believed  I  might  render  a 
great  service  in  helping  to  secure  an  effective  League  of 
Nations.  He  hoped  I  would  have  conferences  with  Bal- 
f our,  Lloyd  George,  and  Leon  Bourgeois,  and  that  I  would 
be  able  to  show  them  what  kind  of  a  League  we,  and  as 
we  thought,  the  American  public  generally,  wanted.  At 
my  request,  Taft  agreed  to  write  me  a  letter,  signed  by 
himself  as  president  of  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  and 
by  A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  chairman  of  the  Executive  Com 
mittee,  giving  me  full  authority  to  take  whatever  action 
in  Europe  I  might  consider  wise.  I  told  Taft  that  I 
wanted  a  letter  which  should  expressly  state,  among 
other  things,  that  I  was  to  support  our  official  delegates, 
as  it  would  not  do  for  America  to  show  a  divided  front. 
He  told  me.  what  I  also  had  known  from  conversations 
with  Roosevelt,  that  Roosevelt  had  latterly  expressed 
himself  in  favor  of  such  a  League  of  Nations  as  we  stood 
for.  I  reminded  Taft  that  Roosevelt  had  been  the  first 
in  recent  years  to  emphasize  the  subject  of  a  League  of 
Nations,  having  done  so  in  his  Nobel  Peace  Prize  address. 

The  committee  to  represent  at  Paris  the  League  to 
Enforce  Peace  consisted  of  myself  as  chairman,  Hamilton 
Holt  as  vice-chair  nan,  and  such  other  members  of  the 
League  as  might  be  in  Paris  at  that  time.  Mr.  Holt,  after 
consulting  me  as  to  methods  and  plan  of  action  pending 
my  arrival,  had  left  New  York  on  December  28th.  I  had 
postponed  my  departure  for  Paris  until  I  could  learn  of  my 
son  Roger's  departure  from  Siberia. 


398       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

On  January  25,  1919,  I  left  New  York,  reaching  Lon 
don  on  February  4th,  where  I  promptly  conferred  with  the 
members  of  the  British  League  of  Nations  Union.  Sir 
Willoughby  Dickinson,  M.P.,  gave  me  full  details  of  the 
meetings  that  had  been  held  by  the  English,  French,  and 
Italian  leagues  in  Paris,  at  which  our  League  was  repre 
sented  by  Hamilton  Holt.  I  also  had  a  consultation  with 
Lord  Shaw,  the  chairman  of  the  conference  of  delegates, 
who  gave  me  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  that  had  been 
adopted. 

We  remained  in  London  several  days,  and  while  there 
dined  with  our  new  ambassador,  John  W.  Davis,  for 
merly  the  Solicitor-General  of  the  United  States.  Both  he 
and  Mrs.  Davis,  in  the  short  time  they  had  been  in  Lon 
don,  had  won  the  esteem  of  official  England.  At  this  din 
ner  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  the  new  Lord  Chancel 
lor,  Birkenhead,  formerly  Sir  Frederick  Smith,  who  held 
a  distinguished  position  at  the  British  Bar,  and  had  been 
Attorney-General  in  the  last  Cabinet.  In  the  latter  part 
of  1917  he  had  visited  the  United  States,  where  I  had  met 
him,  and  where  he  had  made  a  number  of  addresses  in  the 
leading  cities,  as  well  as  in  Canada.  He  was  then  only 
forty-seven  years  of  age,  but  looked  much  younger,  and 
therefore  quite  unlike  the  typical  Lord  Chancellor  robed 
in  venerable  dignity.  He  told  me  that  he  was  the  youngest 
Lord  Chancellor,  with  one  exception,  that  had  ever  sat  on 
the  woolsack.  He  had  the  youthful  and  vivacious  face  of 
a  man  in  the  thirties.  He  said  that  nothing  would  please 
him  more  than,  when  he  was  no  longer  Lord  Chancellor, 
to  practice  law  in  America,  but  he  said  that  precedent 
would  not  permit  a  former  Lord  Chancellor  to  return  to 
the  bar  and  practice  his  profession. 

Birkenhead  was  very  outspoken  in  his  opposition  to  a 
League  of  Nations,  saying  that  it  was  a  Utopian  idea.  He 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  BIRKENHEAD      399 

asked  whether  I  had  seen  his  book  which  had  recently 
appeared,  describing  his  visit  to  America.  I  told  him  I 
had  not,  and  on  the  next  day  he  sent  me  a  copy  bearing 
his  inscription. 

The  following  day  we  lunched  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Her 
bert  Samuel.  He  had  held  several  Cabinet  positions,  and 
had  been  Secretary  of  the  Home  Office  in  the  last  Cab 
inet.  He  was  defeated  as  candidate  for  Parliament  in  the 
last  election.  He  told  me  he  had  recently  returned  from 
Paris  from  a  Zionist  Conference  where  his  views  and 
advice  were  desired.  He  stated  that  he  was  not  a  Zionist, 
but  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Balfour  Declaration  to 
secure  a  homeland  in  Palestine  with  equal  civil  and  re 
ligious  rights  for  all  nationalities.  I  told  him  that  was 
precisely  my  position.  His  son  was  present,  who  was 
about  twenty  years  of  age,  and  had  been  in  the  British 
army,  and  was  later  transferred  to  the  Zionist  Corps. 

That  evening  I  dined  with  Sir  Arthur  Steele-Maitland, 
M.P.,  TJnder-Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Office,  where  I 
met  my  old  friend  Viscount  Bryce,  who  was  then  about 
eighty-two  years  of  age.  He  was  still  in  the  best  of 
health  and  his  mind  was  as  alert  as  ever.  He  brought  me 
a  copy  of  his  recent  brochure,  "Proposals  for  the  Pre 
vention  of  Future  Wars."  Maitland  strongly  favored  a 
League  of  Nations,  and  told  me  that  after  I  arrived  in 
Paris,  if  I  found  it  necessary  for  the  committee  of  the 
League  of  Nations  Union  to  return  there  to  reenforce  the 
official  delegates,  I  should  write  or  wire  him,  and  several 
of  the  members  would  go  over  to  cooperate  with  our 
committee;  and  that  he  would  write  Lord  Robert  Cecil 
so  that  we  might  have  a  conference.  I  had  similar  letters 
from  Lord  Shaw  and  Sir  Willoughby  Dickinson. 

We  arrived  in  Paris  on  February  9th,  where  our  friends, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Mamelsdorf,  had  generously 


400       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

placed  at  our  disposal  their  comfortable  apartment  in  the 
rue  Montaigne,  which  was  most  conveniently  and  cen 
trally  situated,  and  saved  us  the  necessity  and  difficulty 
of  securing  accommodations,  all  the  hotels  being  jammed 
full.  The  following  morning  I  met  Mr.  Holt,  who  had 
admirably  represented  our  committee  at  the  several 
conferences  that  were  held  prior  to  my  arrival;  also 
Judge  William  H.  Wadhams,  Mrs.  Fannie  Fern  Andrews, 
Arthur  Kuhn,  secretary  and  legal  adviser  of  our  com 
mittee,  besides  several  other  members  of  our  League. 

With  Mr.  Holt  I  went  to  the  Crillon  Hotel,  headquar 
ters  of  the  American  Delegation,  and  had  a  conference 
with  Colonel  House,  with  whom  arrangements  were  made 
for  the  fullest  cooperation  between  our  League  and  the 
Official  Commission.  We  also  conferred  with  Mr.  Gor 
don  Auchincloss,  the  son-in-law  and  secretary  of  Colonel 
House,  who,  after  consulting  with  the  latter,  gave  me  in 
confidence  a  typewritten  copy  of  the  Articles  of  the 
League  entitled:  "Draft  as  Provisionally  Approved." 
He  said  that  the  Colonel  wanted  me  to  have  this,  so  that 
I  might  study  it.  I  was  told  at  the  same  time  that  the 
outlook  for  the  adoption  of  a  League  was  very  discourag 
ing  because  the  French  Delegation,  of  which  Leon  Bour 
geois  was  the  head,  insisted  upon  the  inclusion  of  two 
additional  clauses,  (1)  the  control  by  the  League  of  the 
manufacture  of  all  armaments  and  of  all  war  industries, 
and  (2)  an  international  military  force  to  defend  the 
French  frontier,  which,  Bourgeois  insisted,  quoting  from 
a  former  speech  of  President  Wilson,  "was  the  frontier  of 
civilization." 

President  Wilson  had  emphatically  objected  to  the 
proposed  additions. 

When  I  informed  Colonel  House  that  I  was  about  to 
call  on  Leon  Bourgeois  at  his  home  across  the  Seine,  he 


CONFERENCE  WITH  BOURGEOIS        401 

said,  "By  all  means,  go,"  and  added  that  Bourgeois's 
attitude  "had  put  the  League  on  the  rocks." 

Mr.  Holt,  Mr.  Kuhn,  and  I  proceeded  to  Bourgeois's 
house,  but  when  we  arrived  there  late  in  the  afternoon, 
we  were  told  that  M.  Bourgeois  was  out,  that  he  was  then 
in  the  Senate  and  would  not  return  until  late.  While 
there,  however,  I  met  my  friend  and  colleague  on  the 
Hague  Tribunal,  Baron  d'Estournelles  de  Constant.  He 
said  he  would  see  to  it  that  we  met  Bourgeois  that  eve 
ning.  Mr.  Holt,  Mr.  Kuhn,  and  I  then  returned  to  my 
apartment,  and  had  hardly  arrived  there  when  my  tele 
phone  rang  and  I  was  informed  that  M.  Bourgeois  and 
Baron  d'Estournelles  were  on  their  way  to  my  residence. 
They  arrived  promptly  at  seven  o'clock. 

In  the  course  of  the  discussion,  Bourgeois  presented  the 
interposing  difficulties  to  which  I  have  referred,  giving 
the  divergence  of  views  between  him  and  President 
Wilson  and  Colonel  House.  I  explained  to  him,  more  fully 
than  he  seemed  to  have  appreciated  before,  that  the  war- 
making  power  was  lodged  by  our  Constitution  exclusively 
in  Congress,  and  that  even  if  the  President  should  agree 
to  the  additional  articles,  if  these  articles  would  in  any 
way  conflict  with  the  war-making  power  as  provided  for 
in  the  Constitution,  President  Wilson's  assent  would  be 
without  effect,  and  would  never  be  ratified  by  our  Senate. 

At  this  point  in  our  conversation,  the  telephone  rang 
and  M.  Bourgeois  was  informed  that  the  President  of  the 
Ministry,  M.  Clemenceau,  desired  to  see  him  at  once. 
Bourgeois  said  he  would  shortly  return  and  hurriedly  left 
us.  In  the  meantime  we  continued  the  conversation  with 
d'Estournelles,  who,  being  familiar  with  our  American 
system,  was  better  able  to  appreciate  the  problem.  I 
told  him  plainly  that  Colonel  House  had  said  to  me  that 
afternoon  that "  the  League  of  Nations  was  on  the  rocks." 


402       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Bourgeois  returned  in  half  an  hour  and  we  resumed  the 
discussion.  After  explaining  more  at  length  our  constitu 
tional  provisions,  I  told  him  that  if  the  proposed  League 
were  made  too  strong  it  would  be  useless,  so  far  as  Amer 
ica  was  concerned,  since  it  would  not  be  ratified  by  the 
Senate.  Knowing  what  a  strong  advocate  he  had  always 
been  of  the  League  of  Nations,  as  he  was  and  had  been  for 
years  past  the  president  of  the  French  League  of  Nations 
Society,  I  asked  him  whether  he  would  prefer  having  no 
League  rather  than  a  League  as  drafted,  without  the  two 
articles  he  had  proposed. 

He  frankly  replied  that  if  that  were  the  alternative,  he 
would  prefer  to  have  the  League  as  drafted.  He  then 
referred  to  the  fact  that  at  our  last  Congressional  election, 
the  Administration  had  been  defeated,  and  therefore,  as 
he  understood  it,  the  President  represented  a  minority 
party.  I  told  him  that,  while  such  would  be  the  case  under 
the  European  system,  it  was  not  so  under  our  system, 
and  then  read  to  him  from  my  letter  of  credence  "to  sup 
port  the  President,"  explaining  that  the  president  of  our 
League,  Mr.  Taft,  along  with  Dr.  Lowell,  myself,  and 
many  others,  was  not  of  the  President's  party,  yet  I  was 
authorized  and  instructed  to  support  the  President. 

Bourgeois  replied  that  at  the  Plenary  Session  of  the 
Conference,  which  was  to  be  held  on  the  Friday  following, 
namely,  on  the  14th,  at  the  Quai  d'Orsay,  in  view  of  the 
American  position  which  I  had  made  clear  to  him,  he 
would  support  the  "Draft  as  Provisionally  Approved," 
but  that  he  wanted  me  to  appreciate  that  they  had  poli 
tics  in  France  as  well  as  we  had,  and  that  therefore  he 
would,  at  any  rate,  have  to  present  at  the  Conference  the 
two  articles  referred  to,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  for 
their  popular  effect;  but  that  I  could  rely  on  it  that  his 
Government  would  in  the  final  analysis  accept  the  cove- 


CONFERENCE  WITH  BOURGEOIS        403 

nant  or  draft  as  provisionally  presented  by  the  represent 
atives  of  the  fourteen  nations  which  had  participated  in 
its  preparation  and  had  preliminarily  agreed  to  it. 

When  Bourgeois  and  d'Estournelles  departed,  which 
was  at  about  ten  o'clock,  I  called  up  Colonel  House,  and, 
after  briefly  informing  him  what  had  taken  place,  I  told 
him  that  the  League  was  "off  the  rocks."  He  expressed 
his  great  gratification,  and  on  the  following  morning  when 
I  met  him  he  said  that  he  had  informed  the  President, 
who  desired  heartily  to  congratulate  me. 

When  Colonel  House  had  informed  me  that  "the 
League  was  on  the  rocks,"  it  was  more  real  than  figura 
tive;  for  at  the  session  of  the  Commission  on  the  League 
held  the  evening  before,  the  French  members  having  in 
sisted  among  other  provisions  upon  an  international  army 
to  guard  the  frontier,  and  President  Wilson  having  point- 
blank  refused  to  agree  to  it,  an  impasse  had  been  reached, 
since  neither  side  would  give  way.  The  Commission  there 
upon  adjourned,  apparently  without  any  possibility  of 
coming  to  an  understanding.  Considerable  bitterness  was 
developed  in  the  discussion,  as  I  learned,  between  the 
President  and  M.  Bourgeois.  It  was  at  this  stage  that 
I  fortuitously  arrived  at  the  Crillon  to  report  that  our 
committee,  by  calling  on  M.  Bourgeois,  had  been  able 
unofficially  to  take  up  and  discuss  with  him  the  situa 
tion,  which  officially  had  apparently  passed  beyond  the 
stage  of  further  discussion.  Therefore  it  was,  as  Holt 
and  I  were  subsequently  informed,  a  great  relief  to  the 
President  and  Colonel  House,  as  well  as  to  Clemenceau 
and  Bourgeois,  that  we  had  been  able  to  remove  the  im 
passe  by  inducing  the  French  delegates  to  agree  to  sup 
port  the  Covenant  as  preliminarily  drafted. 

Some  months  before,  there  had  been  organized  in  Paris 


404       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

a  luncheon  club,  the  Cercle  Interallie,  as  a  comfortable 
and  convenient  meeting-place  for  many  officials  and 
others.  Immediately  upon  my  arrival,  I  was  introduced 
at  the  club,  where  I  frequently  took  lunch  and  met  many 
people,  officials  and  delegates  of  the  allied  nations.  The 
day  following  our  conversation  at  my  apartment,  I  met 
Baron  d'Estournelles  by  appointment  at  lunch,  and  he 
informed  me  that  Bourgeois  had  expressed  himself 
gratified  with  the  clarification  I  had  given  him  and  that 
I  could  rely  upon  the  Covenant  being  adopted  as  we  had 
agreed. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th,  while  I  was  at  Colonel 
House's  office,  I  received  a  copy  of  the  Covenant  which 
had  just  been  put  in  print,  as  reedited  by  the  Sub- 
Committee  of  the  League  of  Nations  under  the  chairman 
ship  of  Lord  Robert  Cecil.  While  I  was  there,  President 
Wilson  came  in  to  meet  the  representatives  of  the  Ameri 
can  press.  When  he  saw  me,  he  expressed  his  high  ap 
preciation  for  our  services  and  helpfulness.  The  President 
made  a  brief  address  to  the  correspondents,  beginning  in 
a  semi-humorous  vein,  and  then  giving  a  general  descrip 
tion  of  the  Covenant  as  finally  drafted,  explaining  that 
where  so  many  nations  were  involved,  no  one's  individual 
ideas  could  be  fully  satisfied,  and  that  there  had  to  be 
yielding  on  all  sides.  Wilson  added  that  he  would  have 
liked  to  see  some  definite  declaration  regarding  the  pro 
tection  of  religious  minorities,  and  referred  to  several  of 
the  other  outstanding  provisions. 

Colonel  House  asked  me  to  see  Bourgeois  again  before 
the  Plenary  Session  which  was  to  take  place  that  after 
noon,  saying  that  he  had  heard  that  Bourgeois  was  going 
to  oppose  the  Covenant.  I  immediately  called  on  Bour 
geois  again,  and  told  him  precisely  what  the  Colonel  had 
said,  but  Bourgeois  assured  me  that  there  had  been  no 


AT  THE  PLENARY  CONFERENCE       405 

change,  and  that  the  Covenant,  or  as  it  was  styled  in 
French,  Le  Pacte,  would  not  be  opposed. 

That  same  afternoon,  I  went  with  former  Ambassador 
Henry  White,  one  of  our  official  delegates,  to  the  Session 
of  the  Plenary  Conference  at  the  Quai  d'Orsay  which 
convened  at  3.30  o'clock.  I  accompanied  him  into  the 
Conference  room,  a  large,  vaulted,  ornate  chamber  known 
as  the  Clock  Room,  where  were  seated,  at  the  tables  ar 
ranged  along  three  sides  of  a  square,  with  an  inner  row 
of  seats  arranged  in  the  same  way,  the  delegates  of  the 
thirty  nations. 

On  the  outside  of  the  square  were  the  tables  for  the 
secretaries  of  the  several  nations.  At  the  head  of  the  table 
sat  M.  Clemenceau;  to  his  right  was  President  Wilson, 
and  on  his  left  was  to  be  Lloyd  George,  but  as  he  was  not 
present,  Lord  Robert  Cecil  sat  in  his  place.  Next  on  the 
right  was  Mr.  Lansing,  and  next  on  the  left  was  Mr.  Bal- 
four,  and  so  on  in  order.  In  the  rear  of  the  chamber  were 
a  number  of  distinguished  persons  and  other  officials  of 
the  Powers.  To  one  side  was  another  large  room  with 
arched  entrances,  occupied  by  the  correspondents  of  the 
press  of  the  world.  The  proceedings  began  at  four 
o'clock.  The  ushers  closed  the  large  entrance  doors  lead 
ing  out  into  the  foyer,  and  all  was  still  and  in  expectancy 
when  Clemenceau  rose  and,  in  his  usual  brusque  and 
unceremonious  manner,  announced  that  "Monsieur 
Wilson"  would  have  the  "parole,"  meaning  the  floor. 

President  Wilson  arose,  calm,  dignified,  and  entirely 
self-possessed,  and,  after  a  few  preliminary  words,  stated 
that  the  representatives  of  the  fourteen  nations  which 
composed  the  League  of  Nations  Committee  had  unan 
imously  agreed  to  the  Covenant  consisting  of  twenty- 
six  articles  to  be  presented  to  the  Conference,  represent 
ing,  according  to  the  estimate,  1,200,000,000  people. 


406       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

He  read  the  articles  of  the  Covenant,  one  by  one,  in 
terpolating  here  and  there  brief  explanations.  The  title 
"  Covenant "  had  been  given  the  document  by  Wilson,  a 
designation  he  had  previously  used  in  one  of  his  speeches. 
This  was  regarded  as  most  appropriate,  since  the  pact 
was  not  a  treaty  or  convention,  but  something  higher  and 
more  sacred,  hence  the  scriptural  designation  "Cove 
nant,"  such  as  God  had  made  with  Israel. 

After  reading  the  articles,  Wilson  made  an  address  of 
about  thirty  minutes.  It  was  clear,  forceful,  and  in  his 
inimitable  style.  In  closing  he  said:  "Armed  force  is  in 
the  background  in  this  programme,  but  it  is  in  the  back 
ground,  and  if  the  moral  force  of  the  world  will  not  suffice, 
the  physical  force  of  the  world  shall.  But  that  is  the 
last  resort,  because  this  is  intended  as  a  constitution  of 
peace,  not  as  a  League  of  War.  Many  terrible  things 
have  come  out  of  this  war,  gentlemen,  but  some  very 
beautiful  things  have  come  out  of  it.  Wrong  has  been 
defeated,  but  the  rest  of  the  world  has  been  more  con 
scious  than  it  ever  was  before,  of  the  majesty  of  right." 

Lord  Robert  Cecil  then  spoke  briefly,  and  I  will  quote 
a  single  passage  from  his  address:  "Finally,  we  have 
thought  that  if  the  world  is  to  be  at  peace,  it  is  not  enough 
to  forbid  war.  We  must  do  something  more  than  that.  We 
must  try  and  substitute  for  the  principle  of  international 
competition  that  of  international  cooperation." 

Signer  Orlando  of  Italy  followed  with  a  brief  address, 
then  M.  Leon  Bourgeois  rose  and  spoke  somewhat  at 
length  in  French.  He  said  that  he  proposed  amendments 
which  he  thought  he  ought  to  mention;  that  while  his 
country  had  accepted  the  text  which  had  been  read,  the 
amendments  were  mentioned  so  that,  as  the  text  went 
before  the  world,  the  amendments  might  also  be  con 
sidered,  to  the  effect  that  we  ought  to  have  a  permanent 


AT  THE  PLENARY  CONFERENCE       407 

organization  to  prepare  military  and  naval  means  of 
execution  and  make  them  ready  in  case  of  emergency. 

Baron  Makino,  speaking  with  persuasive  eloquence  in 
perfect  English,  maintained  his  previous  amendments 
which  were  as  follows:  "The  equality  of  nations  being  a 
basic  principle  of  the  League  of  Nations,  the  High  Con 
tracting  Parties  agree  to  accord,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  all 
aliens,  nationals  of  States,  members  of  the  League,  equal 
and  just  treatment  in  every  respect,  making  no  distinc 
tion  either  in  law  or  in  fact  on  account  of  their  race  or 
nationality."  He  then  added:  "I  feel  it  my  duty  to  de 
clare  clearly  on  this  occasion  that  the  Japanese  Govern 
ment  and  people  feel  poignant  regret  at  the  failure  of  the 
Commission  to  approve  of  their  just  demand  for  laying 
down  a  principle  aiming  at  the  adjustment  of  this  long 
standing  grievance,  the  demand  that  is  based  upon  a 
deep-rooted  natural  conviction.  They  will  continue  in 
their  insistence  for  the  adoption  of  this  principle  by  the 
League  in  the  future." 

George  Barnes,  the  English  labor  leader,  then  spoke, 
upholding  the  argument  of  Bourgeois  for  an  international 
force.  After  him  Venizelos  spoke,  referring  to  the  amend 
ments  of  France  which  had  been  held  back  because  of 
constitutional  barriers  of  acquiescence  on  the  part  of  cer 
tain  countries.  He  thought  those  countries  should  make 
an  effort  to  remove  those  barriers,  but  that,  if  they  could 
not  do  so,  then  France  should  recede  from  her  position. 
Mr.  Hughes  of  Australia  interposed  a  question,  demand 
ing  to  know  when  and  where  the  discussion  of  mandatories 
would  take  place,  to  which  Clemenceau  replied  that  the 
document  would  rest  on  the  table  and  would  be  discussed 
at  a  distant  date.  Thereupon,  he  abruptly  adjourned  the 
session. 

As  the  delegates  moved  out,  I  met  President  Wilson, 


408       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

who  asked  me  for  my  opinion  about  the  Covenant.  I 
replied  that  it  was  much  more  comprehensive  and  force 
ful  than  I  had  believed  it  possible  for  the  nations  pre 
liminarily  to  agree  upon.  He  expressed  himself  as  much 
gratified.  I  believed  then,  and  do  yet,  that  but  for  Wil 
son's  prestige  and  dominant  leadership  of  the  Confer 
ence,  so  far  at  least  as  the  Covenant  was  concerned,  it 
would  perhaps  not  have  been  formulated,  if  ever,  until 
after  the  Treaty  of  Peace  was  concluded.  At  any  rate,  I 
very  much  doubt  if  an  agreement  could  have  been 
arrived  at. 

After  my  conversation  with  Wilson,  Bourgeois  said  to 
me  that  he  hoped  I  was  satisfied  with  his  remarks  in  sup 
port  of  the  Covenant,  that  he  had  to  refer  to  the  amend 
ments  he  presented  so  that  they  might  receive  considera 
tion.  I  told  him  that  he  had  followed  the  course  he  had 
agreed  to  when  he  spoke  to  me  two  nights  before,  that 
while  he  would  refer  to  his  amendments,  he  would  never 
theless  support  the  Covenant. 

When  I  had  returned  to  my  apartment,  I  wrote  in  my 
"Random  Notes " :  "I  regard  this  day  and  its  happenings 
as  the  golden  chapter  in  the  history  of  civilization." 
Notwithstanding  what  has  since  happened,  I  have  not 
abandoned  hope  that  such  may  yet  prove  true. 

Two  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  Conference,  Hamil 
ton  Holt  and  I  had  tea  with  General  Smuts,  the  distin 
guished  South  African  delegate.  He  is  a  man  of  very 
pleasant  appearance,  rather  short  in  stature,  and  with  his 
florid  complexion  looks  like  a  veritable  Dutchman.  He 
was  then  apparently  about  fifty  years  of  age.  He  would 
hardly,  from  his  appearance,  be  taken  for  a  soldier,  but 
rather  for  a  student.  He  had  given  much  detailed  study 
to  the  subject  of  a  League  of  Nations,  and  from  his  bro- 


WITH  GENERAL  SMUTS  409 

ch  ure  "  The  League  of  Nations  —  A  Practical  Suggestion  " 
(1918)  more  of  his  suggestions  as  there  set  forth  entered 
into  the  articles  of  the  Covenant  than  those  proposed 
by  any  other  of  the  delegates,  including  Wilson.  Smuts 
advocated  in  this  brochure  that  "the  League  should  be 
put  in  the  very  forefront  of  the  programme  of  the  Peace 
Conference,"  the  same  position  that  Wilson  afterward 
successfully  pushed  forward.  In  the  preface  of  his  bro 
chure,  dated  December  16,  1918,  Smuts  says: 

To  my  mind  the  world  is  ripe  for  the  greatest  step  forward 
ever  made  in  the  government  of  man.  And  I  hope  this  brief 
account  of  the  League  will  assist  the  public  to  realize  how  great 
an  advance  is  possible  to-day  as  a  direct  result  of  the  im 
measurable  sacrifices  of  this  war.  If  that  advance  is  not  made, 
this  war  will,  from  the  most  essential  point  of  view,  have  been 
fought  in  vain,  and  great  calamities  will  follow. 

Several  days  after  the  Conference,  on  February  17th, 
my  wife  and  I,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holt,  and  Arthur  Kuhn  of 
our  committee,  attended  the  French  Senate  with  Baron 
d'Estournelles,  who  is  a  member  thereof.  He  introduced 
us  to  a  number  of  Senators,  with  whom  we  had  tea.  I  had 
a  talk  with  the  venerable  Alexandre  Ribot,  head  of  the 
group  of  the  Moderate  Republican  Party,  a  refined  gentle 
man  of  the  old  school,  and  of  thoroughly  statesmanlike 
appearance.  We  also  met  Senator  Paul  Strauss,  whom  I 
had  known  when  he  and  his  wife  visited  our  country  some 
eighteen  years  before.  He  is  the  editor  of  the  "Revue 
Philanthropique,"  and  is  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Medicine.  He  said  that  he  believed  his  family  and  mine 
were  connected.  This  may  be  so,  but  I  have  no  definite 
record. 

Dining  with  Sir  Robert  Borden,  then  Premier  of  Can 
ada  and  one  of  the  British  delegates,  the  following  eve 
ning,  we  met  several  of  his  colleagues.  Balfour  was  ex- 


410       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

pected,  but  he  had  been  compelled  to  return  to  London 
that  day.  Sir  Robert  was  an  important  member  of  the 
British  Delegation  and  made  some  very  helpful  sugges 
tions.  He  opposed  Article  X  of  the  Covenant  which 
provides  that  "the  High  Contracting  Parties  undertake 
to  respect  and  preserve  as  against  external  aggression  the 
territorial  integrity  and  existing  political  independence  of 
all  States,  members  of  the  League,"  etc.,  the  same  article 
that  eventually  met  with  so  much  opposition  in  our  Sen 
ate,  and  doubtless  was  the  principal  cause  for  the  Senate's 
failure  to  ratify.  At  that  time  it  was  generally  rumored 
that  Borden  would  be  selected  as  ambassador  to  the 
United  States  to  succeed  Lord  Reading.  He  would 
doubtless  have  made  a  most  acceptable  representative 
in  Washington  of  the  British  Government,  exceptional 
as  it  would  have  been  to  have  the  British  Empire  repre 
sented  by  a  colonial  official.  No  one  could  have  been  sent 
who  understood  our  country  and  our  people  better. 

Washington's  Birthday  was  celebrated  by  the  American 
Society,  which  gave  a  luncheon  at  the  Hdtel  Quai  d'Orsay, 
which  I  attended.  There  were  present  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  Americans.  It  was  a  notable  assembly,  and  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  sitting  next  to  General  Pershing,  with 
whom  I  had  a  lengthy  talk.  We  spoke,  among  other 
things,  of  the  proposal  that  our  country  should  take  a 
mandate  to  govern  the  Ottoman  Empire  or  any  part  of 
Europe.  Great  propaganda  had  been  made  that  we 
should  take  a  mandate  for  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Persh 
ing  agreed  with  me  that  this  would  lead  to  endless  com 
plications  and  would  not  be  approved  at  home.  I  also 
talked  with  Colonel  House  upon  the  subject,  who  was  of 
the  same  opinion.  Pershing  was  evidently  quite  nervous, 
for  he  was  expected  to  speak,  and  he  was  making  some 


BAKHMETEFF  AND  SAZONOFF          411 

notes.  It  appeared  to  me  he  was  more  disturbed  than  if  he 
were  about  to  enter  into  a  serious  military  engagement. 

I  had  lunch  the  next  day  with  Boris  Bakhmeteff,  the 
Russian  ambassador  to  the  United  States,  at  which  I  met 
Sazonoff,  former  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  under  the 
Czar's  regime.  We  naturally  spoke  about  affairs  in  Russia 
and  the  possibility  of  reconstruction.  I  was  told  that  the 
late  Czar  was  kindly  and  humane,  but  that  he  had  been 
completely  misled  and  dominated  by  crafty  ministers  who 
were  plotting  and  intriguing  one  against  another;  that 
Russia  was  not,  by  reason  of  the  ignorance  of  its  people, 
fitted  to  become  a  republic,  but  that  it  must  have  a  gov 
ernment  powerfully  centralized,  and  that  its  best  hope 
would  be  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy  under  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas  as  constitutional  ruler.  Sazonoff  said  it 
was  a  pity  that  Petrograd  was  not  taken  by  the  Allied 
fleet.  I  am  told  that,  under  the  Czar,  Sazonoff  was  the 
leader  of  the  liberal  wing. 

A  few  days  later  I  gave  a  little  dinner  at  my  apartment 
to  enable  Mr.  Vance  McCormick,  chairman  of  the  War 
Trade  Board,  to  meet  several  prominent  Russians,  in 
cluding  Ambassador  Bakhmeteff  and  Sazonoff.  Mr. 
Hoover  was  also  present.  We  discussed  the  rehabilitation 
of  commerce  with  Russia. 

On  the  26th  of  February  the  Union  of  Associations  for 
the  Society  of  Nations,  together  with  the  European 
Bureau  of  the  Carnegie  Peace  Foundation,  gave  a  lunch 
eon  in  honor  of  Ambassador  Sharp  and  myself  at  the 
Cercle  Interallie,  at  which  M.  L£on  Bourgeois  presided. 
There  were  present  some  seventy-five  guests,  mostly 
delegates  and  French  officials,  including  Sir  Robert 
Borden;  Venizelos,  the  Greek  delegate;  the  Roumanian 
minister;  M.  Vesnitch,  the  Serbian  minister;  and  the 
Brazilian  ambassador.  At  the  conclusion,  M.  Bourgeois 


412       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

arose,  and,  although  there  were  to  be  no  set  speeches,  he 
expressed  the  regret  of  the  French  nation  that  Ambassa 
dor  Sharp  would  in  the  near  future  relinquish  his  post, 
and  complimented  his  Administration  upon  its  work  of 
the  past  four  trying  years.  He  praised  my  effective  help 
fulness  in  regard  to  the  League  of  Nations,  and  stated 
that  he  not  only  greeted  me  as  a  twin,  because  he  was 
born  in  the  same  year  as  I  was,  but  also  as  a  Frenchman, 
since  my  father,  who  was  born  in  1809,  was  a  Frenchman 
by  birth,  and  because  my  great-grandfather  was  a  dele 
gate  to  the  Conference  which  was  summoned  by  Napo 
leon  during  the  first  decade  of  the  past  century. 

In  reply,  I  stated  that  an  American,  to  be  truly  patri 
otic,  should  understand  our  early  history,  and  that  no 
American  with  this  knowledge  could  fail  to  have  a  love 
and  sense  of  gratitude  for  France,  our  ally  in  the  establish 
ment  of  democracy,  as  we  had  so  recently  been  her  ally 
for  the  liberation  of  the  world. 

My  various  conferences  regarding  the  League  of  Na 
tions,  while  it  was  under  discussion  and  formulation  by 
the  Committee  of  the  Conference  having  charge  of  that 
subject,  were  held  with  Colonel  House  and  his  secretary, 
Mr.  Auchincloss.  On  February  27th,  I  had  lunch  with 
Secretary  Lansing.  It  had  been  quite  obvious  to  me  that 
even  before  this  he  had  been  practically  side-tracked, 
and  that  Colonel  House  had  replaced  him  from  the  be 
ginning,  doubtless  by  direction  of  the  President.  This 
was  very  evident  so  far  as  the  League  of  Nations  was 
concerned.  Mr.  Lansing  informed  me  that  he  had  pointed 
out  a  number  of  technical  objections  to  the  Covenant  as 
formulated,  which,  he  was  sure,  would  prove  a  fruitful 
source  of  difference  and  would  make  trouble.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  he  was  evidently  not  conversant  with  the 
various  stages  of  discussion  regarding  the  articles  of  the 


SECRETARY  LANSING  413 

Covenant.  I  referred  to  the  entire  omission  in  the  second 
draft  of  the  section  respecting  civil  and  religious  liberty 
and  the  protection  of  minorities,  which  was  contained  in 
the  tentative  draft,  but  was  finally  omitted  because  Japan 
had  insisted  that  the  equality  of  races  be  included,  where 
upon  the  whole  subject  had  been  omitted.  I  suggested 
that  the  entire  subject,  which  was  in  fact  a  Bill  of  Rights, 
now  that  it  had  been  excluded  from  the  Covenant,  should 
be  incorporated  in  the  treaties  to  be  made  with  each  of 
the  new  nations.  Lansing  agreed  with  me  that  that 
should  be  done  and  would  under  the  circumstances  be  the 
best  plan. 

At  this  time,  during  February  and  March,  1919,  the 
League  to  Enforce  Peace  had  organized  numerous  meet 
ings  throughout  the  country  from  New  York  to  San 
Francisco,  advocating  a  League  of  Nations.  Mr.  Taft 
had  spoken  at  many  of  these  meetings  for  months  past, 
traveling  untiringly  and  making  most  effective  addresses. 
At  these  meetings  the  Covenant  was  approved  and  resolu 
tions  to  that  effect  were  passed.  On  February  25th  and 
28th  I  received  cables  briefly  describing  such  meetings 
and  the  substance  of  the  resolutions  passed.  I  received 
cables  to  the  same  effect  from  Salt  Lake  City,  from  San 
Francisco,  and  from  New  York.  These  I  gave  to  Colonel 
House,  who  in  turn  gave  them  to  the  press,  and  some 
times  they  were  cabled  back  through  the  Associated  Press 
to  American  newspapers. 

From  time  to  time  a  number  of  the  representatives  of 
the  Balkan  and  East  European  nations  came  to  my 
apartment  to  confer  with  me,  doubtless  because  of  my 
diplomatic  experiences  in  that  part  of  the  world,  and 
because  of  my  relationship  with  Colonel  House  and  our 


414       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

official  Commission.  Among  others  who  conferred  with 
me  was  M.  Venizelos,  who  came  to  discuss  the  claims  of 
Greece  to  additional  territory  to  the  north,  and  on  the 
western  littoral  of  Asia  Minor,  and  to  the  islands  adjacent. 
He  explained,  as  an  ethnological  basis  for  such  a  claim, 
that  the  Greek  race  was  purer  and  less  mixed  in  that  part 
of  Asia  Minor  and  in  the  islands  than  in  Greece  proper. 
He  placed  before  me  several  brochures  containing  studies 
of  these  points  and  sent  me  maps  illustrating  those  claims, 
also  a  document  in  English  entitled:  "Greece  Before  the 
Peace  Congress."  He  told  me  that,  unless  his  presence 
was  imperatively  demanded  in  Paris,  he  would  attend 
with  me  the  London  Conference  of  the  Peace  Societies  of 
the  various  nations  which  was  to  be  held  there  March 
llth. 

On  March  7th  M.  Vesnitch,  the  chief  delegate  of  Ser 
bia,  came  to  see  me  about  Serbia's  claims  to  two  towns, 
Verschatz  and  Weisskirchen,  which  the  sub-committee  of 
ten,  under  the  chairmanship  of  M.  Tardieu,  had  awarded 
to  Roumania.  He  claimed  they  were  predominantly 
Serbian  as  to  sympathies  and  population,  and  that  be 
cause  they  happened  to  be  on  the  railroad  running 
through  Roumania  was  no  valid  reason  for  transferring 
them  under  Roumanian  sovereignty.  He  said  Serbia 
could  never  consent  to  such  transfer,  which  would  cause 
not  only  dissatisfaction,  but  constant  trouble. 

The  day  after  the  Plenary  Session  of  the  Conference 
and  the  preliminary  adoption  of  the  Covenant,  President 
Wilson  returned  to  America.  I  talked  with  M.  Bourgeois, 
M.  Vesnitch,  M.  Venizelos,  and  several  of  the  chairmen 
of  the  allied  societies  for  a  League  of  Nations,  and  we 
agreed  to  hold  a  conference  of  the  delegates  of  the  various 
societies.  Chiefly  because  of  our  desire  of  having  with  us 


MEETING  OF  ALLIED  SOCIETIES       415 

Sir  Edward  Grey,  who  was  the  chairman  of  the  British  So 
ciety,  and  Lord  Bryce,  both  of  whom  at  that  time  were 
not  entirely  well,  we  decided  to  hold  the  conference 
in  London  instead  of  in  Paris.  It  was  subsequently  de 
cided  to  hold  it  March  llth-13th  for  the  purpose  of  dis 
cussing  the  draft  of  the  Covenant  as  preliminarily 
adopted,  and  to  consider  such  changes  and  amendments 
as  might  be  deemed  advisable,  which  when  acted  upon 
and  adopted  were  to  be  presented  to  our  respective  offi 
cial  delegates  prior  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  Plenary 
Conference,  to  be  held  after  President  Wilson's  return. 

Accordingly,  on  March  llth,  the  delegates  represent 
ing  America,  Great  Britain,  France,  Greece,  China, 
Jugo-Slavia,  and  Roumania  assembled  in  London,  in  all 
about  fifty  in  number.  Besides  myself  as  chairman,  there 
attended,  from  America,  Hamilton  Holt,  Arthur  Kuhn, 
Dr.  Henry  Churchill  King,  Mrs.  Fannie  Fern  Andrews, 
Raymond  V.  Ingersoll,  Dr.  Frederick  Lynch,  and  Ed 
ward  Harding.  Great  Britain  was  represented  by  Lord 
Shaw  of  Dunfermline,  Sir  W.  H.  Dickinson,  Major  David 
Davies,  M.P.;  J.  H.  Thomas,  M.P.;  J.  R.  Clynes, 
M.P.;  Sir  A.  Shirley  Benn,  M.P.;  Sir  Arthur  Steele- 
Maitland,  M.P.;  Professor  Gilbert  Murray;  Aneurin 
Williams,  M.P.;  H.  Wickham  Steed,  and  others.  From 
France  came  M.  Leon  Bourgeois,  Vice-Admiral  Fournier, 
General  Leon  Durand,  Baron  d'Estournelles  de  Constant, 
and  others.  Greece  was  represented  by  M.  Venizelos  and 
Professor  Andreades.  China  was  represented  by  Mr. 
Chang  and  Mr.  Cheng;  Jugo-Slavia  by  M.  Yovanovitch; 
and  Roumania  by  Professor  E.  Pangrati,  Professor 
Negulesco,  and  Miss  Helene  Vacaresco. 

A  preliminary  consultation  was  held  on  the  10th,  with 
Professor  Gilbert  Murray  in  the  chair,  and  next  morning 
the  first  meeting  of  the  conference  was  held  at  Caxton 


416       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Hall,  Westminster.  Lord  Shaw  was  elected  chairman, 
and  W.  J.  T.  Griffith,  secretary.  The  various  articles  of 
the  Covenant  were  discussed,  together  with  the  amend 
ments  and  changes  proposed  by  the  delegates  from  the 
several  countries.  On  behalf  of  our  delegation,  I  offered 
a  resolution  regarding  the  free  exercise  of  religion  as  well 
as  freedom  from  civil  and  political  discrimination  be 
cause  of  religion,  which  resolution  after  discussion  was 
unanimously  adopted.  Nine  separate  resolutions  were 
offered  by  the  British  delegates,  some  ten  resolutions  by 
the  French  delegates,  and  others  by  the  Roumanian  and 
the  Chinese  delegates.  In  all,  there  were  three  sessions, 
and  the  resolutions  that  were  adopted  M.  Bourgeois 
was  authorized  to  present  to  the  allied  prime  ministers. 

On  the  evening  of  the  12th,  Major  David  Davies,  on 
behalf  of  the  League  of  Nations  Union,  gave  a  dinner  at 
the  Criterion  Restaurant  to  M.  Bourgeois,  Dr.  Nansen, 
M.  Vandervelde,  M.  Venizelos,  and  me.  Right  Hon.  H. 
A.  L.  Fisher,  Secretary  for  Education,  was  toastmaster. 
Besides  the  delegates,  a  number  of  other  prominent  men 
were  present.  Several  speeches  were  made  laudatory  of 
the  Covenant  and  expressing  high  hopes  for  the  new 
world  order.  Emphasis  was  laid  upon  the  necessity  of 
building  up  a  body  of  opinion  throughout  the  world  to 
support  the  ideals  of  the  League  and  of  international 
peace. 

After  adjournment,  I  returned  to  Paris,  and  on  March 
24th  made  a  report  to  President  Wilson,  who,  a  few  days 
before,  had  returned  from  America,  and  sent  him  the 
resolution  proposed  by  the  American  delegates,  namely, 
to  add  a  new  article  to  the  Covenant  as  follows: 

The  High  Contracting  Parties,  realizing  that  religious  dis 
criminations  give  rise  to  internal  dissatisfaction  and  unrest 
which  militate  against  international  concord,  agree  to  secure 


RUSSIAN  REFUGEE  STATESMEN        417 

and  maintain  in  their  respective  countries,  as  well  as  in  states 
and  territories  under  the  tutelage  of  other  states  acting  as 
mandatories  on  behalf  of  the  League,  the  free  exercise  of  re 
ligion  as  well  as  freedom  from  civil  and  political  discrimination 
because  of  adherence  to  any  creed,  religion  or  belief  not  incon 
sistent  with  public  order  or  with  public  morals. 

To  this  proposal  President  Wilson  replied,  saying:  "I 
am  indeed  interested  in  a  religious  liberty  article  in  the 
Covenant,  but  am  trying  to  reach  the  matter  in  another 
way."  He  doubtless  had  in  mind  to  cover  it  in  treaties 
with  the  new  nations  for  the  protection  of  minorities,  as 
was  subsequently  provided  in  the  treaty  with  Poland  and 
with  the  Balkan  States. 

At  a  luncheon  on  April  6th  with  the  Russian  group  of 
refugee  statesmen  in  Paris,  I  again  met  M.  Sazonoff; 
M.  de  Giers,  formerly  ambassador  at  Constantinople;  M. 
Bark,  formerly  Minister  of  Finance  under  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  late  Czar;  and  M.  Boris  Bakhmeteff,  the 
Russian  ambassador  to  the  United  States.  They  all  spoke 
most  disparagingly  of  Russian  conditions  at  the  time. 
M.  Sazonoff  criticized  and  complained  of  the  Peace  Con 
ference,  which,  as  he  stated,  had  in  no  way  condemned 
Russian  Bolshevism,  and  its  failure  in  so  doing  had  en 
couraged  the  Bolsheviki.  He  said  that  had  the  Allies 
taken  Petrograd,  which  could  have  been  done  with  very 
little  sacrifice,  that  would  have  been  the  beginning  of  the 
end  of  Bolshevism  and  would  have  rallied  the  Russian 
people,  who  would  themselves  have  destroyed  the  Bol 
sheviki.  He  added  that  Russia's  cruel  treatment  of  the 
Jews  under  the  Czar's  Government  was  an  indefensible 
wrong,  and  doubtless  contributed  to  driving  some  of 
those  who  had  suffered  most  into  the  ranks  of  the  Bolshe 
viki. 

While  Sazonoff  was  talking,  I  wondered  why  he  and 


418       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

some  of  his  colleagues  in  the  Ministry  had  not  prevented 
the  outrages  against  defenseless  Jews,  which  resulted  in 
the  horrible  pogroms  which  shocked  the  moral  sensibility 
of  the  world. 

It  is  true  that  Sazonoff  belonged  to  the  so-called  liberals 
of  Russia,  and  they  did  not  have  the  courage  to  stand 
up  for  the  basic  principles  of  humanity  when  in  office, 
which  they  now,  doubtless,  sincerely  proclaim.  Such  is  the 
withering  and  dispiriting  effect  of  autocratic  government 
upon  its  own  highest  officials,  who  often  lack  the  courage, 
even  if  they  have  the  vision,  to  correct  abuses ;  and  because 
of  this  moral  cowardice  they  prepare  the  way  and  supply 
the  motive  that  sooner  or  later  expresses  itself  in  revolu 
tion.  Napoleon  is  reputed  to  have  said  that  the  treatment 
of  the  Jews  in  every  country  is  the  thermometer  of  that 
country's  civilization. 

Several  times  a  week,  during  this  period,  conferences 
occurred  in  my  apartment  with  representatives  of  the 
Eastern  and  Balkan  States.  Information  had  reached 
Paris  that  serious  persecution  of  Jews  was  threatened  in 
Prague  and  throughout  Tchecko-Slovakia;  and  on  March 
25th  a  conference  was  arranged  between  M.  Edouard 
Benes,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  Tchecko-Slo- 
vak  Republic,  and  several  gentlemen  representing  the 
American  Jewish  Committee  and  the  American  Jewish 
and  Zionist  Committee,  consisting  of  Julian  W.  Mack, 
Judge  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court;  Professor  Felix 
Frankfurter,  of  Harvard  University;  Aaron  Aaronson, 
head  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  Palestine; 
Lewis  L.  Strauss,  the  assistant  of  Herbert  Hoover;  and 
myself.  Letters  from  Prague  from  two  of  the  Food  Ad 
ministration  officials  reported  that  a  press  propaganda 
was  carried  on  against  Jews,  and  that  several  attacks 
upon  them  had  been  made;  that  a  movement  was  on  foot 


A  CONFERENCE  WITH  M.  BENES        419 

to  deport  a  number  of  them  to  Pressburg,  the  hot-bed  of 
Bolshevism. 

M.  Benes  pointed  out  that  if  any  pogroms  occurred, 
which  these  reports  foreshadowed,  it  would  seriously 
prejudice  his  country  and  would  alienate  American  sym 
pathy,  which  in  turn  might  result  in  discontinuing  food 
shipments  to  his  country.  He  stated  that  he  was  a  dis 
ciple  of  President  Masaryk  and  always  shared  his  liberal 
social  and  political  views;  he  said  he  would  at  once  tele 
graph  President  Masaryk,  who  he  knew  would  do  every 
thing  in  his  power  to  suppress  the  anti-Semitic  agitation. 
We  were  very  much  impressed  with  the  enlightened 
statesmanship  of  M.  Benes,  who,  since  then,  has  shown 
himself  to  be  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  in  middle 
Europe.  He  assured  us  at  the  time  that  any  persecution 
of  minorities  in  his  country  would  be  contrary  to  its 
organic  laws,  and  in  direct  violation  of  the  principles  and 
policies  upon  which  it  had  been  determined  to  organize 
the  State,  and  that  we  could  rely  on  it  that  no  efforts 
would  be  spared  in  securing  equal  justice  for  all  without 
regard  to  race  or  religion. 

From  Sir  Robert  L.  Borden,  the  Premier  of  Canada 
and  one  of  the  delegates  of  the  British  Empire  to  the 
Peace  Conference,  I  received  on  March  21st  a  copy  of  his 
memorandum  on  the  several  articles  of  the  Covenant. 
I  found  them  well  conceived  and  in  the  main  admirable. 
He  opposed  Article  X  as  drafted.  He  wanted  it  either 
stricken  out  or  clarified.  I  sent  him  a  copy  of  a  speech  of 
Mr.  Taft's  of  March  5th  referring  to  the  same  subject. 

At  the  request  of  Colonel  House,  on  April  llth,  I  had 
another  conference  with  M.  Bourgeois.  The  Commission 
on  the  League  of  Nations  of  the  fourteen  nations,  under 
the  chairmanship  of  President  Wilson,  had  the  night  be 
fore  held  a  protracted  session  discussing  the  revision  of 


420       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  Covenant,  at  which  President  Wilson  offered  the  re 
vised  Article  XXI  containing  the  special  provision  re 
garding  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  as  follows: 

ARTICLE  XXI 

Nothing  in  this  Covenant  shall  be  deemed  to  affect  the  valid 
ity  of  international  engagements  such  as  treaties  of  arbitration 
or  regional  understandings  like  the  Monroe  Doctrine  for  secur 
ing  the  maintenance  of  peace. 

M.  Larnaud  and  M.  Bourgeois,  the  French  represent 
atives,  both  objected  to  specific  reference  to  the  Monroe 
Doctrine,  and  made  long  speeches  in  support  of  such 
objection.  Colonel  House  desired  me  to  impress  upon  M. 
Bourgeois  the  reasons  for  this  amendment  and  why  it  was 
necessary  specifically  to  mention  the  Monroe  Doctrine, 
because,  without  it,  it  would  not  be  possible  to  have  the 
Covenant  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  As  I  did  not  know 
M.  Larnaud,  I  thought  it  best  to  discuss  the  subject  with 
M.  Bourgeois  so  that  he  might  confer  with  his  colleague. 
In  company  with  Baron  d'Estournelles  de  Constant,  I 
called  on  M.  Bourgeois  at  his  residence.  I  soon  learned 
that  M.  Bourgeois  did  not  object  to  specific  reference  to 
the  Monroe  Doctrine,  but  he  desired,  in  return  for  his 
assent,  to  obtain  President  Wilson's  assent  to  the  amend 
ments  Bourgeois  had  offered  respecting  a  general  staff 
and  control  or  supervision  of  the  military  force  that  each 
of  the  States  was  to  supply  to  support  the  League.  As  the 
Commission  was  to  meet  again  to  finish  the  consideration 
of  the  Covenant,  he  agreed  to  confer  with  M.  Clemenceau, 
saying  he  would  have  to  learn  the  other's  views.  He 
further  said  it  must  be  determined  how  best  to  formulate 
the  article  especially  referring  to  the  Monroe  Doctrine  so 
as  not  to  conflict  with  the  general  provisions. 

At  the  session  of  the  Commission  that  evening  at  the 


THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE  421 

Crillon  Hotel,  which  lasted  until  after  midnight,  the 
article  as  quoted  above,  specifically  mentioning  the  Mon 
roe  Doctrine,  was  adopted.  Colonel  House  gave  me  the 
exact  wording  of  the  article,  which  I  at  once  cabled  to  the 
League  to  Enforce  Peace  in  New  York,  with  the  request 
that  Mr.  Taft  be  informed.  The  same  day  I  received  a 
cable  from  Mr.  Taft  and  Dr.  Lowell,  forwarded  by  Acting 
Secretary  of  State  Frank  L.  Polk,  to  the  effect  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  League,  spe 
cific  reference  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Covenant  of  the  League  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  secure  confirmation  by  the  Senate. 
On  the  following  day  Taft  cabled  me  that  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  amendment  was  "eminently  satisfactory." 

I  immediately  advised  President  Wilson,  sending  him 
a  copy  of  the  cable.  The  following  day,  I  received  the 
following  letter  from  him: 

18  April,  1919 
MY  DEAR  MR.  STRAUS: 

I  have  been  very  much  cheered  by  your  kind  letter  of  yester 
day,  with  the  message  which  it  quotes  from  the  League  to  En 
force  Peace  and  from  Mr.  Taft  personally,  and  I  want  to  thank 
you  very  warmly  for  your  own  kind  personal  assurances  of 
satisfaction  with  the  results  of  our  work  on  the  Covenant. 
Cordially  and  sincerely  yours 

WOODROW  WILSON 

On  April  23d,  on  the  invitation  of  Professor  Stephen 
Hayes  Bush,  of  the  State  University  of  Iowa,  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  Free  Lecture  Course  of  the  American  Ex 
peditionary  Force,  I  delivered  an  address  in  the  Grand 
Amphitheatre  of  the  Sorbonne.  The  great  hall  was  filled 
with  about  one  thousand  of  our  officers  and  men  who  were 
taking  courses  at  this  ancient  institution  of  learning. 
There  were  two  lectures  that  afternoon,  the  other  by 
M.  Ferdinand  Buisson,  the  noted  educator.  His  subject 


422       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

was  "The  Educational  System  of  France,"  which  he  had 
done  so  much  to  develop  since  the  educational  system  had 
been  secularized  by  the  separation  of  Church  and  State 
in  France.  He  described  why  education  had  been  taken 
from  the  control  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  not  out  of  hostil 
ity  to  the  Church,  but  in  order  not  to  prejudice  the 
religious  scruples  of  non-clericals  and  non-Catholics. 

I  took  as  my  subject  "America  and  the  League  of 
Nations,"  and  showed  in  what  respect  the  Covenant  pro 
vided  definite  sanctions  to  make  peace  decisions  effec 
tive.  I  pointed  out  that  following  the  war,  for  the  first 
time  in  history,  the  dominant  power  of  the  world  rested  in 
democratically  governed  nations,  and  that  theirs  was  the 
opportunity  and  the  responsibility  to  make  provisions 
that  such  a  war  shall  never  be  waged  again;  and  that  now 
it  was  the  duty  of  statesmanship  to  translate  the  victory 
won  in  war  into  greater  security  for  the  f uture  peace  and 
happiness  of  the  world.  I  quoted  from  the  speech  of 
President  Poincare  in  welcoming  the  Peace  Delegates, 
in  which  he  had  described  the  reasons  why  America  en 
tered  the  World  War.  He  had  said:  "It  was  a  supreme 
judgment  passed  at  the  bar  of  history  by  the  lofty  con 
science  of  a  free  people  to  rescue  her  mother  from  the 
humiliation  of  thralldom  and  to  save  civilization." 

That  same  evening,  M.  Nicolas  W.  Tchaikovsky,  presi 
dent  of  the  Archangel  Government  of  Northern  Russia, 
called  at  my  apartment  to  discuss  with  me  conditions  in 
Russia.  I  had  met  him  before  when  he  was  in  Washing 
ton  in  1907,  after  his  escape  from  prison  in  Siberia.  Dur 
ing  several  periods  before  that  time  he  had  lived  in 
western  United  States,  where  he  had  engaged  in  farming. 
He  had  formerly  belonged  to  the  group  of  social  revolu 
tionists.  I  spoke  with  him  about  the  Hoover  plan  of 
sending  food  into  Russia,  to  which  he  replied  that  if  an 


ADDRESSES  AT  THE  SORBONNE        423 

armed  force  could  be  sent  there  it  would  be  better,  but 
that  without  an  armed  force  the  Bolsheviki  would  use  the 
provisions  for  their  own  red  guard.  I  explained  to  him 
that  that  could  not  be  done,  since  the  agents  of  the  Food 
Administration  would  themselves  supervise  the  distribu 
tion,  just  as  was  done  in  Belgium  during  the  German  oc 
cupation.  He  did  not  seem  to  think  well  of  the  whole 
plan  and  considered  that  it  would  be  of  advantage  to  the 
Bolsheviki  politically,  and  would  make  their  people  believe 
it  was  a  recognition  of  their  regime.  He  seemed  to  think 
that  the  Bolsheviki  authorities  could  not  stop  fighting  in 
Russia  even  if  they  wanted  to,  as  their  several  generals 
acted  independently. 

He  spoke  of  Lenin  as  an  honest,  strong-headed,  mis 
guided  fanatic,  who  he  believed  would  in  time  discover 
his  error  and  would  have  the  moral  courage  and  honesty 
to  throw  up  his  hands.  Trotsky,  he  said,  was  quite  another 
sort  —  an  ambitious  adventurer. 

The  Plenary  Session  of  the  Conference  was  called  to 
order  at  the  Quai  d'Orsay  on  April  28th,  at  3  P.M.  I  again 
attended  with  our  official  delegate,  former  Ambassador 
Henry  White.  The  representatives  of  the  thirty  nations 
were  seated  as  before.  I  was  given  a  seat  just  behind  the 
American  Commission.  The  Session  was  presided  over 
by  M.  Clemenceau,  who  showed  no  signs  of  the  effects  of 
his  recent  wound  by  an  assassin's  bullet.  He  opened  the 
session  with  a  few  words,  then  called  on  President  Wilson, 
who  declared  in  a  matter-of-fact  way  that,  since  he  had 
read  the  articles  of  the  Covenant  to  the  Conference  at 
the  previous  session  (February  14th),  and  since  all  the 
delegates  had  the  Covenant  as  amended  before  them, 
he  would  confine  himself  to  pointing  out  the  amendments 
and  the  reasons  therefor. 


424       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

The  immense  hall  was  packed  as  on  previous  occasions. 
After  President  Wilson  had  made  his  statement,  which 
was  rendered  into  French  by  the  official  interpreter,  he 
moved  several  resolutions,  one  nominating  Sir  James 
Eric  Drummond  as  Secretary-General  of  the  League,  and 
one  that  Belgium,  Brazil,  Greece,  and  Spain  should  be 
members  of  the  Council  pending  the  selection  of  the  four 
additional  States  by  the  Assembly  of  the  League. 

As  chairman  of  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  I  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  President  on  the  following  day  offering  my 
congratulations  upon  the  adoption  of  the  Covenant.  To 
this  I  received  the  following  reply: 

PABIS,  1  May,  1919 
MY  DEAR  MB.  STRAUS: 

Thank  you  with  all  my  heart  for  your  generous  letter  of  the 
29th.  It  has  given  me  the  greatest  pleasure  and  encouragement, 
and  I  want  to  take  the  opportunity  to  say  how  valuable  in 
every  way  your  own  support  of  and  enthusiasm  for  the  League 
of  Nations  has  been.  It  is  a  real  pleasure  to  receive  your  un 
qualified  approbation. 

Cordially  and  sincerely  yours 

WOODROW  WILSON 

After  the  Plenary  Session  on  April  28th  and  the  adop 
tion  of  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations,  I  felt  that 
my  duties  in  Paris  were  at  an  end.  The  winter  had  been 
very  strenuous,  and  the  weather  had  been  very  inclem 
ent  —  much  rain  and  very  little  sunshine.  I  decided  to 
take  a  rest,  and  was  advised,  because  of  some  slight  ail 
ment  in  my  left  leg  due  to  impeded  circulation,  to  take 
the  baths  at  Bagnoles  de  POrne.  The  usual  regime  there 
is  to  take  twenty-one  baths.  After  I  had  taken  eight,  I 
received  a  letter  from  Colonel  House  saying  that  he  would 
regard  it  most  helpful  if  I  would  return  to  America  at  as 
early  a  date  as  possible.  He  informed  me  that  the  counsel 
for  the  American  Commission,  David  Hunter  Miller,  was 


ALEXANDER  KERENSKY  425 

also  returning;  that  passage  had  been  secured  for  both  of 
us  on  the  U.S.S.  Mount  Vernon  which  was  sailing  from 
Brest  on  June  2d.  He  stated  that  it  would  be  rendering  a 
valuable  service  if  I  would  confer  with  some  of  the  Sena 
tors,  so  that  they  might  be  fully  informed  regarding  the 
discussions  and  details  of  the  negotiations  as  they  pro 
gressed. 

I  accordingly  returned  to  Paris,  and  on  May  27th  had 
a  conference  with  Colonel  House,  who  again  impressed 
upon  me  the  services  I  might  render  in  returning  to  the 
United  States,  since  no  one  was  more  familiar  than  Mr. 
Miller  and  I  with  the  meaning  and  significance  of  the 
articles  of  the  Covenant;  no  one,  therefore,  was  better 
qualified  to  answer  the  criticisms  and  objections  that 
had  been  made. 

In  the  course  of  conversation,  he  said  that  in  his  opinion 
Woodrow  Wilson  would  not  become  a  candidate  again 
for  President  unless  the  treaty  were  rejected,  which  might 
force  him  to  run  against  his  will  in  order  to  save  the  treaty; 
should  the  treaty,  however,  be  ratified,  there  would  be 
no  occasion  for  him  to  become  a  candidate. 

The  day  before  this,  while  I  was  paying  a  visit  at  the 
Hotel  Continental,  I  met  Jane  Addams  and  Lillian  Wald, 
and  with  them  was  Alexander  Kerensky,  the  former 
Premier  of  Russia.  They  asked  me  to  meet  Kerensky, 
which  I  did.  He  proved  to  be  not  at  all  the  kind  of  man  in 
appearance  that  I  had  pictured.  He  did  not  resemble  the 
Russian  type.  He  was  clean-shaven,  rather  spare,  a  little 
above  medium  height,  and  seemed  about  forty  years  of 
age.  He  looked  more  like  a  student  than  like  a  leader  who 
had  stood  in  the  storm-center  of  political  turmoil. 

Kerensky  told  me  that  he  did  not  believe  in  Kolschak, 
principally  because  he  regarded  him  as  a  tool  of  the  Brit- 


426       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

;sh  and  Russian  nobility.  Kerensky  expressed  himself 
as  opposed  to  having  the  Allies  recognize  Kolschak  un 
less  it  was  conditioned  on  definite  guarantees  that  a  free 
democratic  election  be  held  so  that  the  people  might 
decide  what  form  of  government  they  desired. 

The  following  day,  Dr.  Dluski,  the  Polish  peace  dele 
gate,  together  with  M.  Lieberman,  a  Jewish  member  of 
the  Polish  Diet,  called  upon  me  to  explain,  if  not  justify, 
the  Polish  pogroms,  evidently  because  of  the  great  pub 
licity  that  had  been  given  thereto  by  the  mass  meeting  in 
New  York.  The  resolutions  passed  by  that  meeting,  and 
presented  to  the  President,  had  appeared  in  dispatches  to 
European  papers. 

We  left  Paris  for  Brest  on  May  30th.  The  Mount 
Vernon,  which  was  scheduled  to  sail  on  the  following  day, 
had  postponed  sailing  until  June  3d.  It  carried  some 
five  thousand  officers  and  men  of  the  Sixth  Division.  Dr. 
Mezes  and  his  wife  were  also  on  board.  Dr.  Mezes,  who 
is  a  brother-in-law  of  Colonel  House,  organized  the  group 
of  experts,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  which  had  ren 
dered  such  valuable  service  to  the  Commission.  We  were 
all  very  comfortably  provided  for  on  the  ship,  and  it  was 
most  interesting  to  observe  the  system  and  order  with 
which  the  five  thousand  officers  and  men  were  taken 
care  of.  They  were  a  jolly  lot,  happy  to  return  home,  and 
without  exception  conducted  themselves  in  a  correct  and 
orderly  manner.  We  had  a  delightful  crossing;  the 
weather  was  fine  and  the  sea  was  calm. 

Shortly  after  my  return  to  the  United  States,  the 
League  to  Enforce  Peace  called  a  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Council  to  determine  what  action  it  could  best  take  to 
further  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  which  was  now  being 
vigorously  debated  in  the  Senate.  It  was  decided  that 


THE  SENATE  AND  THE  COVENANT     427 

Mr.  Vance  McCormick  and  I  should  be  a  committee  to 
confer  with  the  President.  We  subsequently  desired  to 
add  Dr.  A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  president  of  Harvard  Uni 
versity,  to  our  number,  provided  it  would  be  agreeable  to 
the  President,  which  Mr.  McCormick  was  to  ascertain 
when  arranging  for  the  appointment.  The  President 
designated  August  6th  as  the  day  on  which  he  would  see 
us,  and  accordingly  Dr.  Lowell,  Mr.  McCormick,  the 
Secretary  of  the  League,  Dr.  Short,  and  I  went  to  the 
White  House. 

President  Wilson  assured  us  that,  while  he  was  some 
what  tired,  he  felt  in  good  condition.  He  said  he  had  had 
a  number  of  conferences  with  individual  Senators  who 
had  objected  to  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  and  that  he 
had  given  them  explanations  regarding  the  main  points 
in  dispute,  namely,  Article  X,  guaranteeing  against  ex 
ternal  aggression;  Article  XXI,  providing  that  nothing  in 
the  Covenant  should  be  deemed  to  affect  the  validity  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine;  and  Article  I,  providing  that  any 
member  of  the  League  may,  after  two  years'  notice,  with 
draw  from  the  League.  These  were  the  main  subjects 
covered  by  the  reservations  formulated  by  the  moderate 
group  headed  by  Senators  Kellogg  and  McCumber. 

We  suggested  that  it  might  be  of  good  result  if  the 
President  could  in  some  public  and  formal  way  make  his 
explanations  and  interpretations  regarding  these  points. 
The  question  was  how  this  could  best  be  done.  The 
President  believed  it  would  be  preferable  if  one  of  the 
Senators  of  the  opposition  addressed  to  him  a  letter  of 
inquiry,  so  framed  as  to  enable  the  President  to  give  his 
views.  It  was  then  understood  that  Dr.  Lowell,  Mr.  Mc 
Cormick,  and  I  should  confer  with  Senator  Hitchcock, 
the  Democratic  leader  of  the  minority  of  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations,  who  could  advise  us  as  to  what 


428        UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

member  of  the  Republican  majority  on  the  committee  it 
would  be  best  for  us  to  confer  with. 

After  our  conference  with  the  President,  we  went  to  the 
Senate  and  found  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  in 
session,  examining  Secretary  of  State  Lansing.  Senator 
Hitchcock  suggested  that  we  call  on  Senator  McCumber, 
but  as  he  was  not  then  in  Washington,  Dr.  Lowell  and 
I  called  on  Senator  Kellogg.  The  latter  told  us  what  we 
already  knew,  namely,  that  he  was  in  favor  of  the  League 
and  was  scheduled  to  make  his  speech  in  the  Senate  ad 
vocating  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  with  the  reserva 
tions  his  group  had  formulated,  which  reservations  he 
felt  confident  were  not  in  the  nature  of  amendments,  but 
interpretative  only,  and  therefore  would  not  require  re- 
submission  either  to  the  Plenary  Session  or  to  Germany. 
Dr.  Lowell  and  I  outlined  our  plan  regarding  the  letter 
to  the  President,  asking  for  his  interpretation  of  the  arti 
cles  above  referred  to.  While  Senator  Kellogg  personally 
favored  this  plan,  he  said  he  would  first  have  to  confei 
with  the  members  of  his  group,  and  he  believed  they 
would  be  favorably  inclined.  We  then  inquired  whether 
the;  President's  interpretations  and  clarifications  might 
not  serve  the  purpose  of  making  the  reservations  un 
necessary.  The  Senator  said  "no,"  but  that  the  reserva 
tions  could  recite  the  fact  that  they  were  based  upon  the 
President's  interpretations.  We  arranged  that  Senators 
Kellogg  and  Hitchc^t  should  confer  upon  the  subject 
with  a  view  of  preparing  such  a  tentative  letter  of  inquiry 
which  might  be  shown  to  the  President  in  advance,  and 
to  which  the  President  could  reply,  giving  his  interpre 
tations. 

After  leaving  Senator  Kellogg,  we  again  called  on 
Senator  Hitchcock.  In  all  of  these  conferences  between 
the  Senators  of  the  various  groups,  we  acted  as  the  "hon- 


WORLD  POLICIES  SUBORDINATED      429 

est  brokers"  for  the  League.  Senator  Hitchcock  thought 
very  favorably  of  our  plan  and  believed  it  would  work 
out  advantageously.  Dr.  Lowell  and  I  felt  gratified  with 
our  day's  work,  though,  as  matters  developed,  nothing 
came  of  this  plan. 

In  this  connection  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  a  story 
which  Dr.  Lowell  told  apropos  of  the  problem.  The  story, 
as  I  recall  it,  was  that  a  noted  colored  preacher  was  hold 
ing  a  service  in  which  he  read  a  chapter  from  Isaiah  refer 
ring  to  the  Seraphim.  After  the  service  one  of  the  colored 
brethren  asked  the  preacher  what  was  "  the  difference  be 
tween  a  Seraphim  and  a  terrapin."  The  latter,  rubbing  his 
head,  replied:  "My  son,  I  grant  you  there  is  a  difference, 
but  they  have  made  it  up." 

Unfortunately,  while  there  was,  in  words  at  least,  if  not 
in  context,  a  difference  between  the  reservations  offered 
by  the  Administration  group,  the'group  of  mild  reserva- 
tionists,  and  the  majority  group,  yet,  for  reasons  that  I 
need  not  enter  into  here,  they  did  not  "make  it  up." 

In  concluding  this  chapter  and  in  closing  these  me 
moirs,  I  cannot  resist  reflecting  how  much  wiser  the  Allied 
Powers  and  America  were  in  the  conduct  of  the  war  than 
in  the  making  of  peace,  and  afterwards.  In  war  they 
finally  pooled  their  strength  and  won;  in  the  peace  terms 
they  again  drew  measurably  apart.  The  men  who  framed 
the  peace  terms  subordinated  world  policies  to  home  pol 
itics.  The  United  States,  by  reason  of  a  contest  between 
the  Administration  and  the  majority  group  in  the  Senate, 
allowed  its  sense  of  world  responsibility  to  be  negated 
by  partisan  differences.  Reconstruction  is  being  halted. 
And  why?  Because  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  Entente 
Powers  still  lack  the  economic  wisdom,  or,  what  is  the 
equivalent,  the  courage,  to  shape  their  international  pol- 


430       UNDER  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS 

icies  along  world  economic  lines.  My  own  country,  in 
withholding  its  cooperation,  is  equally  culpable.  The  re 
sult  is  tension  and  derangement  in  the  relationship  of 
nations. 

As  the  malady  from  which  this  and  other  countries  are 
suffering  is  world-wide,  so  must  the  remedy  be  world 
wide.  And  America  cannot  free  herself  from  the  respon 
sibility  by  isolating  herself  and  refusing  to  do  her  part  in 
applying  the  remedial  measures  necessary  to  restore  nor 
mal  conditions.  The  remedy  does  not  consist  in  the  less 
ening  or  weakening  of  sovereignty  by  individual  states. 
It  consists  in  the  enlargement  of  their  sovereign  functions 
in  concert  with  and  in  just  relations  to  other  states  for 
the  administration  of  common  interests.  It  requires  no 
surrender  of  sovereignty  for  individual  states  to  conform 
their  policies  to  the  world's  common  needs. 


THE  END 


Index 


INDEX 


Throughout  the  index,  5.  stands  for  the  author. 


Aaronson,  Aaron,  418. 

Abbott,  Ernest,  183,  188. 

Abbott,  Lawrence  F.,  Impressions  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  263,  264,  290, 
311;  174,  254,  289. 

Abbott,  Lyman,  122,  183,  184,  188, 
272,  311,  395.  <• 

Abdul  Aziz,  Sultan,  298. 

Abdul  Hamid  II,  Sultan,  difficulty  of 
obtaining  audience  with,  58,  59;  at 
Selamlik,  63,  64;  feared  assassina 
tion,  64;  S.'s  long-delayed  audience, 
67-69;  physical  aspect  of,  68;  and 
Baron  de  Hirsch,  93;  S.  again  re 
ceived  by,  99;  permits  excavations 
in  Babylonia,  100;  his  obligation  to 
8.,  100,  101;  S.'s  farewell  audience, 
102,  103;  decorates  Mrs.  Straus, 
104;  welcomes  return  of  S.t  as  min 
ister,  134;  does  not  favor  raising 
U.S.  mission  to  embassy,  135;  "the 
whole  show,"  136;  receives  German 
Emperor,  137,  138,  139;  and  the 
indemnities  due  to  missionaries,  141, 
142;  and  Mohammedans  in  the 
Philippines,  143  ff.\  instructs  them 
to  submit  to  U.S.  army,  146,  159; 
and  foreign  visitors,  152;  increased 
power  of,  153;  his  gift  to  S.,  155, 
156;  72,  97,  98,  157,  276,  277,  279, 
282,  292. 

Abraham,  157. 

Adams,  John,  258. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  260. 

Addams,  Jane,  425. 

Adee,  Alvey  A.,  48,  91,  98. 

Adler,  Cyrus,  240,  252. 

Africa,  Northern,  Italy  seeks  terri 
tory  in,  340. 

Aguinaldo,  Emilio,  fails  to  arouse 
Sulu  Mohammedans  to  revolt,  146. 

Ahmed  Riga  Bey,  298,  299. 

Alaska  salmon  fisheries,  protection  of, 
235,  236. 

Alaskan  boundary  question,  173,  174. 

Alexiefsky,  Alexandre,  392,  393. 

Algeciras  Conference,  192. 

Algiers,  motoring  through,  343. 


Alliance   Israelite    (Paris),    167,   359. 

Allied  Societies  for  a  League  of  Na 
tions,  conference  of,  415,  416. 

Alphonso  XIII,  of  Spain,  361. 

American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  and  S.'a  appoint 
ment  to  Turkey,  45,  49. 

American  citizens,  naturalized,  rights 
of,  in  foreign  countries,  163,  332, 
333. 

American  College  for  Girls,  297. 

American  diplomats,  meager  salaries 
of,  102. 

American  Jews  in  Turkey,  80,  81,  82. 

American  Journal  of  International  Law, 
quoted,  335;  336. 

American  politics,  two  main  currents 
in,  307. 

American  Society  of  International 
Law,  334-336. 

Americanism,  Roosevelt  quoted  on, 
183. 

Americans,  stranded  in  London,  com 
mittee  for  relief  of,  371  ff. 

Ames,  James  B.,  160. 

Amos,  Morris  S.,  172. 

Anarchists,  exclusion  and  deportation 
of,  231,  232;  defined  in  Act  of  1907, 
232. 

Anderson,  Chandler  P.,  372. 

Andreades,  Professor,  415. 

Andrews,  E.  Benjamin,  120. 

Andrews,  Fannie  Fern,  400,  415. 

Angell,  James  B.,  resigns  Turkish 
mission,  124,  125;  131,  134. 

Anglo-Japanese  Alliance,  automati 
cally  ended  by  Four-Power  Treaty, 
229. 

Anthon,  Charles,  24. 

Aoki,  Mr.,  Japanese  Ambassador, 
218,  227. 

Arbitration,  as  a  remedy  for  industrial 
disputes,  195. 

Arbitration  treaties,  failure  of,  329, 
330. 

Armenians,  massacres  of,  139,  148, 
280. 

Artin  Effendi,  157. 


434 


INDEX 


Asquith,  Herbert  H.,  350,  384. 

Asquith,  Margot,  350. 

Astor,  Waldorf,  374. 

Astor,  Mrs.   Waldorf   (Viscountess), 

374. 

Astor,  William,  113. 
Athens,  S.'s  visits  to,  152-154,  285, 

286. 
Athletics  in  the  universities  in  1870, 

26. 

Auchincloss,  Gordon,  400,  412. 
Augusta  Victoria,  German  Empress, 

in  Constantinople,  136  ff. 
Austria-Hungary,     and     the    Keiley 

episode,  46,  47;  in  sympathy  with 

Germany     (1909),     279;     annexes 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  341. 
Authors'  Club,  dinner  to  <S.,  331. 
Avigdor,  Isaac  S.  d',  3. 
Avigdor,  Jules  d',  3. 

Babylonia,  excavations  in,  97  ff. 
Bacon,  Rev.  Dr.,  24. 
Bagdad  railway,  concession  for  build 
ing,  and  the  World  War,  279.  And 

see  Persian  Gulf. 
Bakhmeteff,  Boris,  411,  417. 
Balfour,  Arthur  J.,  Palestine  for  the 

Jews,  399;  229,  397,  409. 
Balkan  Wars  (1912  and  1913),  341, 

342,  344. 
Baring,    Sir     Evelyn,    79.     And    see 

Cromer,  Lord. 
Bark,  M.,  417. 
Barlow,  Joel,  145. 

Barnard,  Frederick  A.  P.,  26,  27,  28. 
Barnes,  A.  S.,  45. 
Barnes,  George,  407. 
Barnum,  H.  S.,  103. 
Baron   de   Hirsch   Fund   and   Trade 

School,  96. 

Bartholdt,  Richard,  420. 
Bates,  General,  146. 
Bavaria,  Jews  of  Palatinate  of,  1  /. 
Bayard,  Thomas  F.,  and  the  Keiley 

episode,  47;  quoted,  126;  44,  85,  91, 

93,  94. 
Beaconsfield,  Benjamin  Disraeli,  Earl 

of,  at  the  Berlin  Congress  (1878), 

363;  Sir  H.  D.  Wolff  on,  364,  365; 

his   loyalty   to   Judaism,   364;   his 

novels,  364. 
Beale,  Joseph  H.,  334. 
Beck,  James  M.,  391. 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  urges  appoint 


ment  of  8.  to  Turkey,  45,  46,  116j 

40. 

Beer,  George  L.,  290. 
Beiram,  feast  of,  59,  60. 
Beirut,  schools  in,  73. 
Belmont,  August,  40. 
Benedict  XV,  Pope,  387. 
Benes,  Edouard,  418,  419. 
Benn,  A.  Shirley,  415. 
Bent,  Theodore,  100. 
Bergson,  Henri,  360,  390,  391. 
Berlin,  Treaty  of,  violated  by  Rou- 

mania,  166,  167;  241. 
Berlin,  Congress  of  (1878),  363,  364. 
Bernays,   Jacob,  and  the  Queen   of 

Roumania,  304. 
Bernstorff ,  Count  von,  on  the  origin  of 

the  war,  378;    on   U.S.  mediation, 

378  ff.;  S.  said  to  have  been  duped 

by,  382,  384;  given  his  passports, 

389. 

Berr,  Michael,  3. 
Bethmann-Hollweg,   Chancellor  von, 

reply  of,  to  offer  of  mediation,  384, 

385. 

Beveridge,  Albert  J.,  122. 
Bible  societies,  troubles  of  agents  of,  74. 
Biddle,  James,  87. 
Bien,  Julius,  171. 
Birkenhead,    F.    E.    Smith,    Baron, 

sketch  of,  398;  opposed  to  League 

of  Nations,  398,  399. 
Bissinger,  Erhard,  73. 
Elaine,  James  G.,  and  Dr.  Burchardt 

38,  39. 

Blanc,  Baron,  72. 
Bliss,  Cornelius  N.,  174. 
Bliss,  Daniel,  75. 
Bliss,  Edwin  E.,  103. 
Bliss,  George,  21,  22. 
Bliss,    Howard    S.,    and    the    Syrian 

Protestant  College,  76. 
Bliss,  Isaac,  72. 
Bliss,  William  G.,  103. 
B'nai  B'rith  Order,  167,  171. 
Boardman,  Mabel  T.,  339. 
Boker,  George  H.,  51,  90. 
Bonaparte,  Charles  J.,  230,  232,  237, 

393. 

Bonetti,  Monsignor,  149. 
Bonney,  Mr.,  158. 
Borden,  Sir  Robert  L.,  409,  410,  411, 

419. 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  annexed  by 

Austria,  341. 


INDEX 


435 


Bosphorun,  the,  57,  155. 

"Bosses,"  the,  Roosevelt's  attitude 
toward,  309. 

Boulanger,  Georges  E.  J.  M.,  "the 
second  Napoleon,"  52,  53,  54. 

Boulangist  movement,  collapse  of,  54. 

Boul6  (Greek  Parliament),  286. 

Bourgeois,  Leon,  proposes  additional 
articles  in  League  Covenant,  400- 
403,  406,  408;  404,  407,  411,  412, 
419,  420. 

Brandes,  Georg,  345,  346. 

Brann,  Father,  149. 

Breckenridge,  Clifton  R.,  125. 

Breed,  William  C.,  372. 

Brewer,  David  J.,  334,  339. 

Bridges,  Robert,  350. 

British  League  of  Nations  Union,  398. 

Brittain,  Sir  Harry,  353. 

Brittain,  Lady,  353. 

Brown,  William  Haig,  120,  121. 

Brown  University,  gives  S.  honorary 
degree,  120. 

Browning,  Oscar,  290. 

Bryan,  William  J.,  letter  of  Roosevelt 
to,  254;  and  the  offer  of  U.S.  to 
mediate,  379,  380,  381 ;  his  instruc 
tions  to  Mr.  Page,  385;  252,  253. 

Bryce,  James,  Viscount,  177,  231,  336, 
399,  415. 

Bryce,  Lady,  231. 

Buchanan,  James,  31. 

Budros  Pasha,  Roosevelt's  denun 
ciation  of  murder  of,  288. 

Buisson,  Ferdinand,  421,  422. 

Bulgaria,  294. 

Bullock,  Seth,  176,  177. 

Billow,  Prince  Bernhard  von,  136,  247. 

Burchard,  Samuel  D.,  and  his  "rum, 
Romanism,  and  rebellion"  speech, 
38,  39. 

Burns,  John,  352,  353. 

Burton,  Theodore  E.,  391. 

Bush,  Stephen  H.,  420. 

Butler,  Charles  H.,  334. 

Butler,  Nicholas  M.,  121,  386. 

Buyukdereh,  57. 

Byrne,  James,  372. 

Cabinet,  routine  of  meetings  of,  215, 
216. 

Cairo,  S.'s  visit  to,  77-79;  with  Roose 
velt  at,  287  ff. 

Calice,  Baron  de,  60,  135. 

California,  Japanese  in,  218;  outbreak 


against  Japanese  in,  220;  an ti- Jap 
anese  legislation  in,  228,  nullifies 
"Gentlemen's  Agreement,"  266; 
general  sentiment  of,  228. 

Cambon,  Jules,  135. 

Cambon,  French  Ambassador  to  Tur 
key,  135. 

Campbell,  Timothy,  anecdote  of,  115. 

Canadians,  and  the  Alaskan  boundary, 
174. 

Cannon,  Joseph  G.,  265. 

Capitulations,  the,  86  ff. 

Cardwell,  John,  78. 

Carlisle,  John  G.,  115,  127. 

Carlisle,  Mrs.  John  G.,  115. 

"Carmen  Sylva."  See  Elizabeth  of 
Roumania. 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  and  the  Home 
stead  Labor  leaders,  197;  President 
of  National  Civic  Federation,  197; 
his  character,  198;  his  Autobiog 
raphy,  198;  entertains  S.  at  Skibo 
Castle,  355;  and  the  Peace  Palace, 
356,  357;  178,  331,  332,  386. 

Carnegie,  Mrs.  Andrew,  357. 

Carol,  King  of  Roumania,  S.  enter 
tained  by,  300;  on  economic  ques 
tions,  302;  admired  Roosevelt,  302; 
his  attitude  toward  Jews,  302,  303. 

Carranza,  President  of  Mexico,  340. 

Carter,  George  R.,  Governor  of  Ha 
waii,  222. 

Carter,  Mrs.  George  R.,  222. 

Carter,  J.  Ridgely,  300. 

Cassel,  Sir  Ernest,  305. 

Cassini,  Count,  173. 

Castelar,  Emilio,  sketch  of,  365;  on 
the  expulsion  of  Jews  from  Spain, 
366. 

Catholics,  Roosevelt's  attitude  toward, 
182,  183,  259-262. 

Cavass,  the,  functions  of,  58. 

Cecil,  Lord  Robert,  quoted,  406;  399, 
404,  405. 

Cena,  Signer,  345. 

Central  News  War  Service,  385,  386. 

Century  Magazine,  151,  366. 

Cercle  Interallie,  404. 

Chadwick,  French  E.,  332. 

Chaffee,  Adna  R.,  166. 

Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  U.S.T 
238. 

Chamberlain,  Leander,  272. 

Chang,  Mr.,  415. 

Chapman,  John,  51. 


436 


INDEX 


Chapman,  Mrs.  John,  51. 

Charterhouse  School  and  Roger  Wil 
liams,  120,  121. 

Cheng,  Mr.,  415. 

Chevket  Pasha.  See  Mahmoud. 

Chicago,  campaign  to  purify  primaries 
in,  121,  122. 

Chicago  Record,  143. 

China,  and  the  open  door,  161. 

Choate,  Joseph  H.,  S.'a  friendship 
with,  36. 

Christianity,  few  conversions  to,  in 
Turkey,  75. 

Christians,  in  Turkey,  resent  visit  of 
German  Emperor,  139. 

Cilicia,  massacre  of  Armenians  in, 
280. 

Cincinnati  Times-Star,  251,  252. 

Civic  Federation  of  Chicago,  121, 194. 

Civil  service,  Roosevelt  on,  184. 

Civil  War,  the,  results  of,  20. 

Clemenceau,  Georges,  53,  401,  403, 
405,  407,  420,  423. 

Cleveland,  Frances  (Folsom),  48,  116, 
118,  299.  And  see  Preston,  Frances. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  elected  President 
(1884),  38,  39,  40;  S.  recommended 
to,  as  minister  to  Turkey,  44-46, 
and  appointed,  46;  and  the  Keiley 
episode,  47;  interview  of  S.  with, 
48,  49;  letters  of,  to  S.,  110,  111,  113; 
and  the  silver  question,  108,  109, 
110;  his  tariff  message  (1887),  109; 
popular  esteem  for,  109,  110,  119; 
relations  with  S.,  110;  at  Lakewood, 
112,  118;  on  Isidor  Straus,  112;  and 
the  Van  Alen  appointment,  113, 
114;  and  the  bond  loans,  116;  his 
address  at  the  Beecher  Memorial, 
116;  and  C.  F.  Murphy,  117;  failing 
health,  118;  his  death  and  burial, 
118,  119;  quoted,  126;  address  at 
meeting  of  protest  against  Kishineff 
massacre,  170;  42,  43,  89,  99,  102 
195,  339,  358. 

Cleveland-Elaine  campaign,  the,  38 
39. 

Clynes,  J.  R.,  415. 

Coastwise  shipping  and  Canal  tolls, 
338,  339. 

Colby,  Bainbridge,  321,  322. 

Cole,  Samuel  V.,  "The  Deacon's 
Prayer,"  395. 

Collinsworth  Institute,  11,  243. 

Cologna,  Abraham  de,  3. 


Colombia,  Republic  of,  and  the  Pan 
ama  revolution,  174-176. 
Columbia  College,  S.  a  student  at, 

25-29. 
Columbia  Grammar  School,  S.  a  pupil 

at,  22-24. 
Columbia  Law  School,  S.  a  student  at, 

29,  30;  faculty  of,  30,  31. 
Columbus,    Christopher,    was    he    a 

Spaniard,     of     Jewish     ancestry? 

368,  369. 
Columbus,  Ga.,  Straus  family  settles 

in,    17;  life  in,    18;  captured  and 

looted  by  Union  forces,  17;  dinner 

to  S.  at,  242. 
Commerce  and  Labor,  Department  of, 

<S.  appointed  head  of,  212;  its  scope, 

213;  S.'a  method  of  conducting,  213; 

his  staff,  213,  214;  civil  service  in, 

214;  division  of,  opposed  by  S.,  239. 
Commercial  bodies,  relations  of,  with 

the  Government,  236-238. 
Commission  to  investigate  treatment 

of  Jews  in  Russia,  report  of ,  107,  108. 
Congress,  jingo  agitation  in,  124. 
Constantinople,  first  impressions   of, 

58;  custom  regarding  official  calls  at, 

60;  conditions  of  life  in,   61,   62; 

ceremony  of  Selamlik  in,  63,  64; 

second    arrival    at,    133;    visit    of 

German     Emperor     to,     136-139; 

visitors  to,   149-152,  298,  299;  in 

1909,  276. 

Contract  labor  law,  216. 
Coons,  Joseph  D.,  171. 
Cooper,  Peter,  301. 
Cooperation     Society     of     Northern 

England,  354. 
Corbin,  Henry  C.,  166. 
Cortelyou,  George  B.,  212,  213,  254. 
Corwine,  William  R.,  237. 
Coszta,  Martin,  case  of,  332,  333. 
Coudert,  Frederick  R.,  38. 
Cowles,  Lieut.-Commander,  174. 
Cox,  Samuel  S.,  42,  43. 
Cramp  Shipbuilding  Co.,  138, 142. 
Cravath,  Paul  D.,  170. 
Crete,   Greek   designs  on,  293,    294; 

Venizelos  in  charge  of  affairs  in, 

295.  296. 
Criminals,  exclusion  and  deportation 

of,  233,  234. 
Croker,  Richard,  110. 
Cromer,  Evelyn  Baring,  Lord,  79,  290, 
291. 


INDEX 


437 


Cromwell,  Oliver,  353. 

Crum,  Mr.,  colored,  appointed  Col 
lector  at  Charleston  by  Roosevelt, 
184. 

Cuba,  trouble  with  Spain  over,  122, 
123. 

Cullom,  Shelby  M.,  163. 

Curley,  Captain,  7,  8,  15,  16. 

Curtis,  William  E.,  143,  144. 

Cutting,  Robert  F.,  25,  26. 

Cyprus,  157. 

Daniel,  John  W.,  240. 

Davenport,  Frederick  M.,  317,  321, 

324. 

Davies,  David,  415,  416. 
Davis,  Cushman  K.t  128. 
Davis,  John  C.,  174. 
Davis,  John  W.,  398. 
Davis,  Mrs.  John  W.,  398. 
Day,  Joseph  P.,  372. 
Day,  William  R.,  128,  130. 
De  Forest,  Robert  W.,  372. 
Democratic  State  Convention  (N.Y., 
1891),  silver  question  in,  108,  110; 
adopts  sound-money  plank,  110. 
Depew,  Chauncey  M.,  265. 
Derby,  Ethel  (Roosevelt),  395. 
Dewey,  George,  219. 
Dews,  Dr.,  17,  18. 
Diaz,  Porfirio,  160. 
Dickinson,  J.  M.,  334. 
Dickinson,  Sir  Willoughby  H.,  398, 

399,  415. 

Dillon,  Count,  52,  53. 
Dillon,  Countess,  52,  53. 
Diplomatic  corps,  at  Constantinople, 

official  calls  among,  60,  61. 
Diplomatic  romance,  a,  143-148. 

Diplomatic  service  of  U.S.,  sugges 
tions  for  improving,  105. 

D'Israeli,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  the  elder,  3. 

Disraeli,  Benjamin.    See  Beaconsfield. 

Dixon,  Joseph  M.,  255. 

Djavid  Bey,  278,  281,  282,  284. 

Dluski,  Dr.,  426. 

Dodge,  Cleveland  H.,  299. 

Dodge,  William  E.,  131. 

Donald,  Robert,  351. 

Dosfuentes,  Marques  de.   See  Olmet. 

Dougherty,  Daniel,  40. 

Drago.  Luis  M.,  304,  305. 

Draper,  William  F.,  Ambassador  to 
Italy,  131,  132,  158. 

Draper,  Mrs.  William  F.,  158. 


Drummond,  Sir  J.  Eric,  424. 

Duane,  W.  N.,  372. 

Dufferin,  F.  T.  H.  Blackwood,  Eari 

and  Marquis  of,  79,  364. 
Dunnell,  E.  G.,  48,  49. 
Durand,  Leon,  415. 
Dwight,  Charles  A.  S.,  103. 
Dwight,  Henry  O.,  72,  103. 
Dwight,  Theodore  W.,  30. 

Eari,  Charles,  216. 

Easley,  Ralph  M.,  121,  122,  194,  195, 

196. 
Eastern     Question,     possibilities     of 

trouble  in,  327  ff. 
Eben  Ezra,  367. 
Edward  VII,  350. 
Egypt,  status  of,  77  /.;  conditions  in; 

290,  291. 

Eidlitz,  Otto  M.,  200. 
Eight-hour  law,  favored  by  Roosevelt, 

196. 

Einstein,  G.  F.t  43,  44. 
Eitel  Friedrich,  Prince,  S.'s  impression 

of,  291,  292. 

Eitel  Friedrich,  Princess,  291,  292. 
Electoral  reform,  campaign  for,  121; 

122. 

Eliot,  George.  See  Evans,  Mary  Ann. 
Elizabeth,  Queen  of  Roumania,  aspect 

and  accomplishments  of,  301,  302; 

genesis  of  her  pen-name,  301;  her 

study,  301,  302;  her  gifts  to  <S.,  302, 

304;  and  Hay's  hymn,  303,  304;  on 

Prof.  Bernays,  304. 
Employer  and  employees,  change  in 

relations  between,  and  the  result, 

194. 

English  chapel,  Constantinople,  serv 
ice  in,  66. 

Erb,  Professor,  154. 
Erdman  Act,  the,  200. 
Estournelles  de  Constant,  Baron  d% 

332,  401, 403, 404,  409,  415,  420. 
Eulenburg,  Count,  138. 
Evans,  Mary  Ann,  51. 
Expatriation,  right  of,  332,  333. 
Ezekiel,  Moses,  158. 

Fairbanks,  Charles  W.,  Vice-President, 
and  Pius  X,  289  290,  348;  at  Con 
stantinople,  298,  299;  247,  269. 

Fairbanks,  Mrs.  C.  W.,  247,  298. 

Falconio,  Cardinal,  347,  348,  349. 

Federated  unions,  194. 


438 


INDEX 


Ferrero,  Guglielmo,  Greatness  and 
Decline  of  Rome,  177. 

Ferrero,  Madame,  177. 

Filipinos,  McKinley  and  S.  on  grant 
ing  independence  to,  161. 

Finch,  George  A.,  336. 

Finley,  John  H.,  219,  220. 

Finley,  John  P.,  quoted,  146,  147. 

Fish,  Hamilton,  25. 

Fish,  Stuyvesant,  25. 

Fisher,  H.  A.  L.,  416. 

Flour,  question  of  shipments  of,  to 
Turkey,  147,  148. 

Flower,  Walter  C.,  122. 

Flynn,  Mr.,  17. 

Fort,  Governor,  of  New  Jersey,  119. 

Fortescue,  Lieutenant  Granville,  210. 

Foster,  John  W.,  329,  330,  334,  336. 

Fouad  Pasha,  134. 

Foulke,  William  D.,  209. 

Fournier,  Vice- Admiral,  415. 

Four-Power  Treaty  (1921)  effect  of, 
on  relations  of  U.S.  with  Japan, 
229;  and  the  Anglo-Japanese  alli 
ance,  229. 

France.  See  Great  Power*. 

Frankfurter,  Felix,  418. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  258. 

Franklin,  Fabian,  390. 

Frederic,  Harold,  The  New  Exodus, 
107;  51. 

Frederick  III,  German  Emperor,  138. 

French  delegation  to  Peace  Conference. 
See  Bourgeois. 

French  Senate,  8.  attends  session  of, 
409. 

Freycinet,  Charles  L.  de  S.  de,  53. 

Frick,  Henry  C.,  197. 

Frye,  William  P.,  128. 

Fuller,  Melville  W.,  119,  239,  240. 

Fulton,  Senator  Charles  W.,  236. 

Furtado,  Abraham,  3. 

Furth,  Jacob,  171. 

Gage,  Lyman  J.,  122. 

Gager,  O.  A.,  45. 

Garfield,  James  R.,  184,  186,  187,  214, 

264,  288,  294,  395. 
Gargiulo,  dragoman,  57,  58,  69,   99, 

136,  155,  276. 
Garretson,  Joseph,  251. 
Gates,  C.  F.,  140. 
Gaynor,  William  J.,  308. 
General  Slocum,  steamboat,  explosion 

on,  234. 


George  V,  387. 

George,  King  of  Greece,  receives  S. 
in  audience,  286,  287;  admired 
Roosevelt,  287;  294. 

Georgia  Military  Academy,  16. 

Gerard,  James  W.,  Ambassador  to 
Germany,  demands  his  passports, 
389. 

German  Government,  and  U.S.  offer 
of  mediation,  380  ff. ;  its  insincerity 
exposed,  384,  386. 

German  influence  in  Turkey,  279. 

Germany,  and  Venezuela,  174;  Roose 
velt  on  attitude  of,  192;  Chevket 
Pasha  on  attitude  of,  293;  sells  war 
ship  to  Turkey,  295;  attitude  of,  at 
Hague  conferences,  328  and  n.,  329; 
280. 

Ghika,  Prince  and  Princess,  65. 

Giers,  N.  K.  de,  417. 

Gilder,  Richard  W.,  Grover  Cleveland, 
quoted,  108;  272. 

Gillman,  Henry,  81,  82. 

Gilmore's  Garden,  33. 

Gladstone,  William  E.,  253. 

Gneist,  Rudolf  von,  94. 

Gompers,  Samuel,  and  the  reinstate 
ment  of  Miller,  180,  181;  195,  239, 
240,  252. 

Gorman,  Arthur  P.,  and  the  Turkish 
mission,  42,  43 ;  38,  39. 

Gorst,  Sir  Eldon,  S.  entertained  by, 
290,  291. 

Gorst,  Lady,  290. 

Gottheil,  Richard,  390. 

Gould,  Jay,  39. 

Government  Printing  Office,  and 
non-union  printers,  180,  181. 

Governors,  the,  of  certain  States, 
appeal  to  Roosevelt  to  accept  re- 
nomination  (1912),  310. 

Grace,  William  R.,  Mayor  of  New 
York,  38,  42. 

Graetz,  Heinrich,  History  of  the  Jews, 
278. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  28,  89,  220. 

Graves,  William  S.,  392. 

Gray,  George,  119, 128,  334. 

Great  Britain,  and  Venezuela,  174; 
remonstrance  from  society  in, 
against  lynchings,  185;  and  the 
Lynch  affair,  281;  her  reasons  for 
entering  the  war,  375,  376;  solicitude 
in,  regarding  action  of  U.S.,  377. 
And  see  Great  Powers. 


INDEX 


Great  Powers,  the,  alignment  of,  in 
1909,  279;  effect  of  jealousy  of,  on 
Turkey,  280;  seek  concessions  then, 
under  new  regime,  280;  and  the 
Crete  affair,  294;  and  the  Balkan 
disturbances,  344. 

Greece,  conditions  in  (1910),  286; 
designs  of,  in  Crete,  293  ff.\  buys 
warship  from  Italy,  294;  territorial 
claims  of,  414. 

Greeks,  fail  to  appreciate  Venizelos, 
296. 

Greene,  Joseph  K,  103. 

Greer,  David  H.,  386. 

Gregory,  Charles  N.,  334. 

Grenfell,  Sir  Francis,  79. 

Grey,  Albert  H.  G.,  Earl,  entertains 
S.,  353,  354,  355;  374,  375,  376. 

Grey,  Lady,  354,  355. 

Grey,  Sir  Edward,  on  England's  rea 
sons  for  entering  the  war,  375,  376; 
and  the  proposed  mediations  of  the 
U.S.,  382;  letters  of,  to  S.,  on  the 
negotiations,  383;  377,  415. 

Grey  of  Fallodon,  Edward,  Viscount. 
See  Grey,  Sir  Edward. 

Griffith,  W.  J.  T.,  416. 

Griggs,  John  W.,  128,  334. 

Griscom,  Lloyd  C.,  155. 

Grosvenor,  Edward  A.,  History  of 
Constantinople,  77. 

Giinzburg,  Baron,  133. 

Gutmann,  Hitter  von,  133. 

Hagedorn,  Hermann,  395. 

Hague,  the,  opening  of  Peace  Palace 
at,  356,  357. 

Hague  Court  of  Arbitration,  S.  ap 
pointed  to,  by  Roosevelt,  164,  165; 
Russia  and  Japan  decline  to  go  be 
fore,  188;  Moroccan  question  and, 
192. 

Hague  Peace  Conferences,  partici 
pation  of  U.S.  therein,  328;  results 
of,  322,  329. 

Hakki  Pasha,  Grand  Vizier,  282, 
356. 

Hale,  Edward  E.,  178,  260. 

Hale,  Archdeacon,  120. 

Hamburg-American  S.S.  Co.,  152. 

Hamdy  Bey,  and  the  proposed  exca 
vation  in  Babylonia,  98,  100;  his 
death  and  funeral,  283,  284;  151. 

Hamlin,  Cyrus,  76. 

Hampstead  Garden  Suburb,  353,  354. 


Hanna,  Marcus  A.,  career  and  char 
acter  of,  198,  199;  195,  197. 

Hannibal,  344. 

Hanotaux,  Gabriel,  360. 

Harding,  Edward,  415. 

Harlan,  John  M.,  160. 

Harper's  Weekly,  113. 

Harpoot,  massacres  at,  139,  141; 
building  at,  rebuilt,  142. 

Harriman,  E.  H.,  264. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  President,  ap 
points  commission  on  condition  of 
Jews  in  Russia,  106-108;  101,  164, 
165,  208. 

Harrison,  Charles  C.,  160. 

Haupt,  Professor,  157. 

Havelock,  Sir  Henry,  120. 

Hawaii,  use  of,  by  Japanese  immi 
grants,  217,  218;  visited  by  S.t  222- 
225;  conditions  in,  223;  distribution 
of  population  of,  225. 

Hay,  John,  S.  confers  with,  in  London, 
130;  and  S.'B  resignation,  159,  161; 
letter  of,  to  S.,  161,  162;  his  Rou 
manian  note,  168,  169;  and  the 
Kishineff  protest,  171,  172;  and  the 
treaty  with  New  Granada,  175, 
176;  and  the  arbitration  treaties, 
329,  330;  129,  140,  143,  144,  146, 
150,  160,  174,  209,  331. 

Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty,  338. 

Hayward,  William,  205. 

Head-tax,  representatives  of  foreign 
governments  relieved  from,  230, 
231. 

Heard,  John,  299. 

Hedges,  Job  E.,  320. 

Heilprin,  Michael,  95,  96. 

Henderson,  Mrs.  John  B.,  214. 

Henry,  Prince  (Holland),  357. 

Henry,  Sir  Charles,  entertains  S.,  350, 
351,  352. 

Henry,  Lady,  350,  352. 

Hepburn,  A.  Barton,  35,  308. 

Hepburn  Committee,  35. 

Herrick,  Myron  T.,  122,  359. 

Hervey,  Charles  E.,  205. 

Herzegovina.  See  Bosnia. 

Herzl,  Theodor,  on  Zionism,  156,  157; 
his  character,  157,  158;  81. 

Hetzler,  Theodore,  372. 

Hewitt,  Abram  S.,  121. 

Hill,  David  J.,  287,  288,  331. 

Hill,  J.  Wesley,  274. 

Hinricks,  Frederic  W.,  126. 


440 


INDEX 


Hirsch,  Baron  Maurice  de,  Turkey's 
claim  against,  02-94;  his  philan 
thropy,  95,  96. 

Hirsch,  Baroness  de,  94,  95,  96,  132, 
133. 

Hitchcock,  Frank  H.,  256. 

Hitchcock,  Gilbert  N.,  427,  428,  429. 

Hitt,  Robert,  210. 

Hockstader,  Leonard,  337. 

Hodge,  William  H.,  205. 

Hofmann,  Josef,  55. 

Holls,  Frederick  W.,  331. 

Holt,  Hamilton,  397,  398,  400,  401, 
403,  408,  409,  415. 

Holt,  Mrs.  Hamilton,  409. 

Holt,  Henry,  331. 

Homer,  57. 

Homestead  (Pa.)  riots,  responsibility 
for,  197. 

Honolulu,  222  ff. 

Hoover,  Herbert,  his  plan  for  sending 
food  into  Russia,  423;  374,  411. 

Hoover,  Mrs.  Herbert,  374. 

Horowitz,  Leopold,  133. 

Hotchkiss,  William  H.,  314,  315,  319, 
324. 

House,  Edward  M.,  at  the  Paris  Con 
ference,  400,  401,  403,  404,  410,  412, 
413,  419,  420,  421,  424,  425,  426. 

House  of  Lords,  proposed  reform  of, 
351. 

Howick  Castle,  354,  355. 

Hudson,  James  A.,  first  law  partner 
of  5.,  32,  34. 

Hudson  and  Straus,  32. 

Huerta/President  of  Mexico,  340. 

Hughes,"  Charles  E.,  34,  247,  255. 

Hughes,  Mrs.  Charles  E.,  248. 

Hughes,  William  Morris,  407. 

Humphreys,  Andrew  B.,  121. 

Hunt,  Gaillard,  232. 

Hussein  Hilmi  Pasha,  Grand  Vizier, 
277,  278;  Lynch  affair  causes  his 
resignation,  280-282. 

Iddings,  Mr.,  Consul-General  at  Cairo, 
287,  291. 

Iddings,  Mrs.,  287. 

Ignatieff  laws,  80,  95. 

Immigration,  questions  relating  to, 
216,  217.  And  see  Head-tax,  Japa 
nese  immigration. 

Immigration  acts:  of  1903,  216,  230; 
of  1906,  questionnaire  of  aliens 
under,  231;  1907,  "limited  pass 


ports"  provision  of,  219;  anarchist! 

defined  in,  234. 
Imperiali,  Marquis,  278. 
"In  God  We  Trust,"  omitted  from 

gold  coins,  and  restored,  262,  263. 
Ince,  Howard,  120. 
Industrial      Conference      (1919-20), 

work  of,  203,  204. 
Industrial   peace,   and   the   National 

Civic  Federation,  195  ff.;  Roosevelt 

dedicates  Nobel  Prize  to  promotion 

of,  239,  240. 

Ingersoll,  Raymond  V.,  415. 
International    arbitration,   results  of 

Hague  Conferences  concerning,  328, 

329.  And  see  Lake  Mohonk. 
International  Court  of  Justice,  357, 

358. 
International  law,  naval  officers  should 

be  conversant  with,  333. 
International    peace    congress,    con 
ference  regarding,  178. 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  35. 
Interstate   Commerce  law,   and   the 

trusts,  186. 

Ireland,  John,  Archbishop,  240. 
Isaacs,  Isaac  S.,  33. 
Isaacs,  Meyer  S.,  33;  96. 
Isaacs,    Sir    Rufus,    352.     And    ««« 

Reading,  Earl. 
Isaacs,  Lady,  352. 
Ishii,  Viscount,  S.'a  interview  with; 

224. 

Ismail  Pasha,  Khedive,  78. 
Italy,  and  A.  M.  Keiley,  46;  neutral 

attitude  of,  in  1909, 279;  her  purpose 

in  declaring  war  on  Turkey,  340, 

341;  and  Prof.  Luzzatti,  347.    And 

see  Great  Powers. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  87. 

James,  Darwin,  121,  122. 

Japan,  and  Russia,  Roosevelt  nego 
tiates  peace  between,  188,  189; 
"Gentlemen's  Agreement"  with, 
218,  227;  nullified  by  legislation  in 
California,  266;  danger  of  strained 
relations  with,  220,  221;  proposed 
treaty  with,  226,  227;  present  re 
lations  of  U.S.  with,  229,  230; 
voyage  of  U.S.  fleet,  how  interpreted 
by,  338;  amendments  of  League 
Covenant  desired  by,  407,  413. 

Japanese,  in  California,  question  of 
naturalization  of,  219,  221,  225, 


INDEX 


441 


226,  227;  outbreak  against,  in  San 
Francisco,  220;  transit  of,  between 
Mexico  and  Canada,  226. 

Japanese  immigration  to  Pacific  coast, 
217-221;  the  "Gentlemen's  Agree 
ment,"  218;  executive  regulations 
concerning,  219;  question  of,  studied 
by  S.  in  Hawaii,  222  ff.\  further 
consideration  of,  225  ff.\  statistics 
of  (1907),  228,  229. 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  115. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  258,  388. 

Jerusalem,  S.'s  visit  to,  82-84;  re 
strictions  on  sojournof  Jews  in,  84, 85. 

Jessup,  Henry  H.,  Fifty-Three  Years  in 
Syria,  75. 

Jewish  Colonization  Association,  167. 

Jewish  question  in  Roumania,  King 
Carol  on,  303. 

Jews,  persecution  'of,  in  Alsace,  etc., 
2;  council  of,  convened  by  Napoleon 
I,  3,  4;  foreign,  in  Turkey,  negoti 
ations  concerning,  80  ff. ;  in  Russia, 
persecution  of,  106-108;  and  the 
Kishineff  massacre,  170-173;  Count 
Witte  and,  189,  190,  191;  troubles 
of,  in  Roumania,  167;  and  emi 
gration  of,  to  U.S.,  167-169;  immi 
gration  of,  into  Palestine,  156,  157; 
Roosevelt's  attitude  toward,  179, 
180,  182,  183;  Victor  Emmanuel  on, 
344;  Zangwill's  project  concerning, 
359;  expulsion  of,  from  Spain,  366, 
367;  in  U.S.,  unjustly  charged  with 
being  anti-Ally,  390,  391;  Balfour 
Declaration  regarding  home  in  Pal 
estine  for,  399;  threatened  perse 
cution  of,  after  the  war,  418,  419. 
And  see  American  Jews. 

Johnson,  Hiram  W.,  nominated  for 
Vice-President  by  Progressives,  313, 
317,  318,  319;  361. 

Johnstown  flood,  Abdul  Hamid  con 
tributes  to  relief  fund,  103. 

Jones,  George,  43,  107. 

Journal  of  Race  Development,  The,  146, 
147. 

Judaism,    Disraeli's  loyalty   to,   364. 

Judson,  Frederick  N.,  200. 

Jussen,  Edmund,  56. 

Jussen,  Mrs.  Edmund  (Schurz),  56. 

Jusserand,  Jules,  and  mediations  by 
U.S.,  380,  381;  390. 

Kaufmann,  Isidor,  133. 


Kaufmann  Brothers,  5. 

Keefe,  Daniel  J.,  239,  240. 

Keiley,  Anthony  M.,  and  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  mission,  46, 47;  in  Egypt. 
78. 

Keiley,  Mrs.  A.  M.,  46,  78. 

Kellogg,  Frank  H.,  427,  428,  429. 

Kempster,  Walter,  107. 

Kennedy,  Monsignor,  289. 

Kent,  Frederick  I.,  372. 

Kerensky,  Alexander,  interview  with, 
425,  426. 

Kiamil  Pasha,  Grand  Vizier,  and  the 
mission  schools,  71,  72;  and  the 
Bible  society  agents,  74;  unofficial 
negotiations  with,  77;  and  foreign 
Jews  in  Turkey,  80,  81,  83;  and  the 
proposed  Bagdad  railroad,  96,  97; 
and  the  excavations  in  Babylonia, 
98,  99;  his  character  and  political 
views,  153;  92. 

King,  Henry  C.,  415. 

King,  Pendleton,  57,  58,  71,  99. 

King,  W.  L.  Mackenzie,  339. 

Kipling,  Rudyard,  quoted,  359. 

Kipling,  Mrs.  Rudyard,  359. 

Kirchwey,  George  W.,  334. 

Kishineff  massacre,  and  its  sequel, 
170-173;  andlynchingsinU.S.,  185. 

"  Kitchen  cabinet,"  the,  207,  208. 

Knapp,  Martin  A.,  200. 

Knox,  Philander  C.,  letter  of,  to  8., 
273;  S.  offended  by  instructions 
from,  297,  298;  183,  186,  227,  295, 
306,  330,  340. 

Kohlsaat,  H.  H.,  174. 

Kolschak,  General,  426. 

Kraus,  Adolph,  189. 

Kuhn,  Arthur,  400,  401,  409,  415. 

Kuroki,  Tamemoto,  entertained  in 
New  York,  219,  220. 

La  Follette,  Robert  M.,  122. 

Labor,  Roosevelt's  attitude  toward, 
181,  182,  186. 

Labor,  Department  of,  created,  239. 

Labor  representatives,  conference 
with,  238,  239. 

Labor  unions,  and  the  teamsters' 
strike,  188. 

Lake  Mohonk  Conferences  on  inter 
national  arbitration,  333,  334. 

Lament,  Daniel  S.,  48. 

Langley,  S.  P.,  and  his  flying  machine 
(1900),  159. 


442 


INDEX 


Lansing,  Robert,  side-tracked,  412; 
his  objections  to  the  Covenant,  412, 
413;  334,  405,  428. 

Larnaud,  M.,  420. 

Lauzanne,  Stephane,  390. 

Lavanburg,  Hannah  S.,  mother  of 
Mrs.  Straus,  37,  50. 

Lavanburg,  Sarah,  marries  S.  And 
see  Straus,  Sarah  (Lavanburg). 

Laveleye,  Emile  L.  V.  de,  41,  42. 

Law  of  Associations  (Turkish),  all 
foreign  institutions  subject  to,  296; 
S.  secures  certain  exemptions  from, 
296. 

Lazar,  Jacob.  See  Straus,  Jacob  I. 

Lazard,  Eli,  56. 

Lazard  Freres,  56. 

League  to  Enforce  Peace,  committee 
to  represent,  at  Peace  Conference, 
397;  meetings  of,  in  U.S.,  approve 
League  Covenant,  413;  seeks  to 
secure  ratification  of  the  treaty, 
426-429. 

League  of  Nations,  a,  American  desire 
for,  397;  initial  discouraging  out 
look  for,  at  Paris,  400. 

League  of  Nations,  the,  and  the  Peace 
Palace,  357;  "Draft  of,  as  Provi 
sionally  Approved,"  400;  addi 
tional  clauses  insisted  upon  by 
France,  400;  and  discussed  by  Bour 
geois,  401-403;  Covenant  of,  dis 
cussed  in  Plenary  Conference,  405- 
407;  Lansing's  objections  to  Cov 
enant  of,  412,  413;  no  provision 
concerning  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
and  why,  413;  Article  X,  objections 
to,  410,  419;  Article  XXI,  revised 
by  Wilson,  420;  these  two  articles 
in  U.S.  Senate,  427. 

Lebowich,  Mr.,  183. 

Lecky,  W.  E.  H.,  Democracy  and 
Liberty,  107. 

Lee,  Robert  E..  19. 

Lee,  Sir  Sidney,  350. 

Leishman,  John  G.,  142,  289,  290. 

Lenin,  Nikolai,  423. 

Leo,  Simeon  N.,  33. 

Leopold  II,  of  Belgium,  death  of,  282. 

Levi,  Leo  N.,  167,  171,  172. 

Levy,  Samuel,  367. 

Lewes,  George  H.,  51. 

Lewis,  William  D.,  Life  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  quoted,  311,  312. 

Lewisohn,  Adolf,  189. 


Lichnowsky,  Prince,  My  London 
Mission,  the  most  convincing  indict 
ment  of  Germany,  342. 

Lidhold,  Dr.,  on  William  II,  133,  139. 

Liebcr,  Francis,  his  life  and  character, 
30,  31. 

Lieberman,  Mr.,  426. 

Liliuokalani,  Queen,  222. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  180,  193,  269. 

Littauer,  Lucius  N.,  168. 

"Little  White  House,"  at  Lakewood, 
112,  118. 

Lloyd  George,  David,  on  divers  Lib 
eral  measures,  351 ;  397,  405. 

Locomotive  Engineers,  Brotherhood 
of,  199,  200. 

Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  308. 

Loeb,  William,  Jr.,  178,  212,  254,  256, 
269,  394. 

London,  S.'s  visits  to,  50-52,  304,  305, 
350-354,  359;  from  Paris  to  (July, 
1914),  370,  371;  August  2  in,  371. 

Long,  Albert  L.,  76,  77. 

Long  Island  Historical  Society,  «S.'a 
address  before,  41. 

Longworth,  Alice  (Roosevelt),  222, 
360. 

Longworth,  Nicholas,  179,  209,  222. 

Low,  Seth,  170,  177,  240,  331. 

Lowell,  A.  Lawrence,  397,  402,  421, 
427,  428,  429. 

Lowther,  Gerard,  British  Ambassador 
to  Turkey,  278. 

Lubin,  David,  character  and  career  of, 
349,  350;  346. 

Lusitania  tragedy,  the,  389. 

Luther,  Martin,  247. 

Luzzatti,  Luigi,  S.  and,  346,  347;  his 
Liberty  of  Conscience,  347;  349. 

Lynch,  Frederick,  415. 

Lynch  Company,  affair  of,  and  its 
result,  280-282. 

Lynchings  in  the  U.S.,  and  Kishineff, 
185;  remonstrance  against,  from 
Great  Britain,  185. 

McCarroll,  William,  272. 
McCormick,  Vance,  411,  427. 
McCumber,  Porter  J.,  427,  428. 
McGee,   John   C.,   nominates  8.  for 

Governor,  314-316. 
Mack,  Julian  W.,  418. 
McKelway,  St.  Clair,  126,  160,  272. 
Mackenzie,  P.  R.,  347,  348. 
McKinley,  William,  President,  advisea 


INDEX 


443 


with  S.  on  Cuba,  123,  124,  126;  and 
on  Turkey,  124,  125;  letter  of  S.  to, 
123;  appoints  S.  ambassador  to 
Turkey,  124,  125;  quoted,  on  the 
appointment,  127,  128;  and  S.'s 
resignation,  159,  162;  commends 
his  services,  160,  162;  thinks  of 
offering  him  State  portfolio,  160; 
on  granting  independence  to  the 
Philippines,  161;  why  he  did  not 
appoint  «S.  on  Hague  Tribunal,  164, 
165;  appoints  a  commission  on  nat 
uralization,  232;  122,  128,  134,  135, 
147,  149,  150. 

McLane,  Robert  M.,  52. 

MacNamara,  Thomas  J.,  351. 

MacVeagh,  Wayne,  184. 

McVickar,  Rev.  Dr.,  26,  27. 

Madison,  James,  389. 

Madrid,  Kermit  Roosevelt  married 
at,  362. 

Mahmoud  Chevket  Pasha,  Turkish 
Minister  of  War,  impressions  of, 
292,  293,  295;  on  conditions  in 
Turkey,  and  her  foreign  relations, 
293;  and  the  Crete  affair,  293;  urges 
sale  of  warship  by  U.S.,  295;  assas 
sinated,  295. 

Maine,  battleship,  blown  up,  124. 

Makino,  Baron,  quoted  on  the  League 
Covenant,  407. 

Manning,  Mrs.  Daniel,  299. 

Marash,  massacres  at,  141. 

Margherita,  Queen  of  Italy,  158,  159. 

Maria  Christina,  Regent  of  Spain,  122. 

Marix,  Adolph,  337. 

Marks,  Marcus  M.,  240. 

Marschall  von  Bieberstein,  Baron, 
S.'s  relations  with,  278,  279;  135, 
342. 

Marshall,  Louis,  251. 

Marshall,  Thomas  R.,  394. 

Martens,  Fedor  F.,  190,  356. 

Martin,  J.  C.,  letter  of  Roosevelt  to, 
on  Taft's  religion,  258-262. 

Masaryk,  Thomas  G.,  419. 

Maspero,  Sir  Gaston,  289. 

Massingham,  H.  W.,  350. 

Matthews^  Brander,  25,  26,  28. 

Maura,  Senor,  361. 

Mavroyeni  Bey,  84. 

Mazzini,  Giuseppe,  346. 

Mediation  of  neutral  powers  and  the 
Hague  Conferences,  329,  340. 

Mehmet,  cavass,  58. 


Merry  del  Val,  Cardinal,  349. 

Mesopotamia,  as  a  place  for  coloni 
zation  of  Jews,  157. 

Metcalf,  Victor  H.,  212,  213,  227. 

Methodist  missions  in  Rome,  289,  290. 

Metropolitan  Magazine,  388. 

Mexico,  relations  of  U.S.  with,  339, 
340. 

Meyer,  Eugene,  Jr.,  390. 

Meyer,  George  von  L.,  U.S.  Ambas 
sador  to  Russia  during  Japanese 
war,  Roosevelt  quoted  on,  191 ;  254. 

Mezes,  Dr.,  426. 

Mezes,  Mrs.,  426. 

Miller,  Charles  R.,  44. 

Miller,  David  H.,  133,  424,  425. 

Miller,  Joaquin,  37,  301. 

Miller,  non-union  printer,  discharge 
of,  180;  reinstated  by  Roosevelt, 
180,  181. 

Mission  schools  in  Turkey,  negoti 
ations  concerning  closing  of,  70  ff.\ 
visited  by  S.,  73. 

Missionaries,  relations  of,  with  Turk 
ish  government,  71,  73,  74;  ground 
of  government's  hostility  to,  74,  75; 
and  Turkish  passport  regulations, 
139,  140;  question  of  indemnities 
due  to,  141,  142. 

Mitchell,  John,  240,  272. 

Mitchell,  S.  Weir,  in  Constantinople, 
150,  151;  attends  Mme.  Tewfik, 
151;  his  "Ode  to  a  Lycian  Tomb," 
151. 

Mitchell,  Mrs.  S.  W.,  150. 

Mohammed  V,  Sultan,  receives  S.  in 
audience,  276;  described,  276,  277; 
282,  344. 

Mohammedans,  and  Christianity,  75; 
funerals  of,  284. 

Mohammedans  in  the  Philippines. 
See  Sulu  Islands. 

Mohsin  Khan,  101. 

Monroe,  James,  41,  388,  389. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  why  specifically 
referred  to  in  Covenant  of  League, 
420,  421,  427. 

Montebello,  Comte  de,  72,  85. 

Moody,  William  H.,  186,  230. 

Moore,  Charles  A.,  195. 

Moore,  John  Bassett,  quoted,  176; 
47,  48,  127,  128,  334. 

Moore,  J.  Hampton,  241. 

Morgan,  J.  P.,  &  Co.,  116. 

Morocco.  See  Algeciras. 


444 


INDEX 


Morris,  E.  J.,  88. 

Morrissey,  P.  H.,  quoted,  182;  200, 
203. 

Morrow,  W.  W.,  334. 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B.,  24. 

Moses,  Adolf,  171. 

Moses,  George  H.,  286. 

Munir  Pasha,  Grand  Master  of  Cere 
monies,  58,  99. 

Munkacsy,  Mihaly,  55,  56. 

Munkacsy,  Madame,  55. 

Munz,  Sigmund,  304. 

Murphy,  Charles  F.,  117. 

Murray,  Gilbert,  415. 

Murray,  Lawrence  O.,  213,  234. 

Nagel,  Charles,  238. 

Nansen,  Dr.,  416. 

Napoleon  I,  and  the  Jews,  2;  convokes 
council  of  Jews  at  Paris,  3,  4,  412. 

Nathan,  Ernesto,  Mayor  of  Rome, 
relations  of  S.  with,  345,  346;  his 
descent,  career,  and  character,  346; 
349. 

Nathan,  Mr.,  father  of  Ernesto  N., 
346. 

Nathan,  Mr.,  brother  of  Ernesto, 
345. 

National  Association  of  Manufac 
turers,  241. 

National  Civic  Club,  126. 

National  Civic  Federation,  conference 
of,  194,  195;  industrial  department 
of,  its  scope,  and  plan,  195;  its  work, 
195  ff. 

National  Council  of  Commerce,  237, 
238.  And  see  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  the  U.S. 

National  Insurance  Act  (Great  Brit 
ain),  351. 

National  Primary  Election  League, 
121,  122. 

Nationalists,  Egyptian,  288,  291. 

Naturalization,  careless  administra 
tion  of  laws  relating  to,  231,  232; 
report  of  commission  on,  232;  trea 
ties  of,  333.  And  see  Turkey. 

Naval  War  College,  332,  333. 

Navoni,  dragoman,  87. 

Negro  question,  the,  Roosevelt  on, 
104. 

Negulesco,  Professor,  415. 

Neill,  Charles  P.,  200,  214,  240. 

New  Granada,  treaty  of  U.S.  with 
(1846),  construction  of,  175,  176. 


New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
annual  meeting  of  (1910),  308;  35. 

New  York  Peace  Society,  reception 
to  S.,  330,  331. 

New  York  Public  Service  Commission, 
S.  chairman  of,  204-206. 

New  York  Sun,  347. 

New  York  Times,  43,  44,  107. 

New  York  World,  114. 

Newberry,  Truman  H.,  394. 

Nicholas  ,11,  Czar,  171,  173,  282,  328, 
377,  392,  411,  417. 

Nicholas,  Grand  Duke,  411. 

Nicolaiovitch,  Grand  Duke,  death  of, 
282. 

Nicoll,  Sir  W.  Robertson,  350. 

Nobel  Peace  Prize,  awarded  to  Roose 
velt,  239;  his  disposition  of  the 
fund,  239,  240;  the  foundation  dis 
solved,  and  the  fund  distributed, 
240,  241. 

North  American  Review,  "The  First 
Year  of  Taft's  Administration,"  288. 

North  German  Lloyd  S.S.  Co.,  152. 

Nubar  Pasha,  79. 

Oahu  Island,  224. 

O'Brien,  Thomas  J.,  344. 

Ochs,  Adolph  S.,  391. 

Ochs,  Mrs.  A.  S.,  391. 

Ochs,  George  W.,  121. 

O'Conor,  Charles,  32. 

O'Conor,  Sir  Nicholas  R.,  British 
Ambassador  to  Turkey,  asks  aid  of 
8.  in  protecting  orphanages,  148; 
135,  140,  149. 

Offley,  David,  87. 

Ohio  Society  of  New  York,  Taft's 
address  to,  264. 

Olmet,  Fernando  del,  writes  on  birth 
place  and  nationality  of  Columbus, 
368,  369. 

Olney,  Richard,  253,  335. 

Orlando,  Signer,  406. 

Orphanages,  British,  in  Turkey,  clos 
ing  of,  148. 

Osman  Pasha,  63,  68,  134. 

Ottendorfer,  Oswald,  44. 

Otterberg,  ancestral  home  of  the 
Strauses,  1,  8,  9. 

Ottolenghi,  Israel,  3. 

Ottolenghi,  General,  344. 

Ottoman  American  Development  Co.i 
300. 

Outlook,  The,  290,  310,  341. 


INDEX 


445 


Pacific  Settlement  of  International 
Disputes,  convention  for,  328,  329. 

Page,  Catherine,  359,  360. 

Page,  Walter  Hines,  on  S.'s  activities 
in  project  of  mediation,  384;  Bry 
an's  instructions  to,  385;  359,  372, 
373. 

Paine,  Robert  Treat,  178. 

Paine,   Thomas,   Common  Sense,  41. 

Palestine,  restriction  on  residence  of 
Jews  in,  80/.,  84  ff.;  immigration  of 
Jews  into,  156,  157;  the  Balfour 
Declaration,  399. 

Panama,  revolution  in,  and  the  treaty 
of  1846  with  New  Granada,  174- 
176;  question  of  freedom  of  transit, 
175,  176;  army  of,  185. 

Panama  Canal,  question  of  remission 
of  tolls,  338,  339;  tolls-exemption 
bill  repealed,  339;  237. 

Pangrati,  E.,  415. 

Pansa,  Signor,  135. 

Paris,  S.'s  visits  to,  52-56,  275;  in 
July,  1914,  370.  And  see  Peace 
Conference. 

Parker,  Alton  B.,  299. 

Parker,  Mrs.  A.  B.,  299. 

Parliamentary  systems  of  Great  Brit 
ain  and  U.S.,  compared,  352. 

Parsons,  Herbert,  209. 

Peace  Conference  at  Paris,  proceed 
ings  of,  400  ff.;  failure  of,  to  con 
demn  Bolshevism,  417.  And  see 
League  of  Nations,  Plenary  Con 
ference. 

Peace  Palace,  at  The  Hague,  opening 
of,  356,  357;  future  of,  358. 

Peck,  Ferdinand  W.,  131. 

Pepper,  William,  favors  retention  of 
<S.  as  minister  to  Turkey,  101,  102; 
97. 

Pera,  conditions  in,  61,  62. 

Perkins,  George  W.,  205. 

Pershing,  John  J.,  410. 

Persia,  Shah  of,  101. 

Persian  ambassador  to  Turkey,  61. 

Persian  ambassadress,  a  former  Circas 
sian  slave,  61. 

Persian  Gulf,  proposed  railroad  to, 
from  Constantinople,  96,  97. 

Persons,  Henry,  243. 

Peter  the  Cruel,  367. 

Peters,  John  P.,  and  the  proposed 
excavations  in  Babylonia,  97  ff.; 
Nippur,  100. 


Pettibone,  I.  F.,  103. 

Phelan,  James  D.,  121. 

Phelps,  Edward  J.,  50,  151, 

Philip,  Hoffman,  300. 

Philippines,  S.'s  advice  concerning, 
127;  Mohammedans  in  the,  143  ff.; 
ignorance  in  U.S.  concerning,  144; 
proposed  punitive  expedition 
against  Mohammedans,  165,  166. 

Pillsbury-Washburn  Flour  Co.,  147. 

Pineapples,  in  Hawaii,  224. 

Pius  IX,  46. 

Pius  X,  why  he  did  not  receive  Roose 
velt,  289,  290,  348,  349. 

Platt,  Frank  H.,  378. 

Platt,  Thomas  C.,  211,  309. 

Plenary  Conference,  sessions  of,  405- 
408,  423,  424. 

Pogroms  in  Poland,  426. 

Politzer,  Adam,  133. 

Polk,  Frank  L.,  421. 

Porter,  David,  87. 

Porter,  Horace,  131,  132,  255,  331, 
336. 

Porter,  Governor  James  Davis,  46. 

Portsmouth  Conference  (1905),  189, 
190,  191. 

Powderly,  Terence  V.,  239,  251,  252. 

Prague,  attacks  on  Jews  in,  418. 

Prendergast,  William  A.,  314,  315,  317. 

Preston,  Frances  (Folsom-Cleveland), 
on  Cleveland's  character,  358. 

Primaries.   See  Electoral  reform. 

Pringle,  J.  Lynch,  58. 

Progressive  Party,  genesis  of,  309  /. 
National  Convention  of,  nominates 
Roosevelt  and  Johnson,  313;  New 
York  State  Convention  of,  nomi 
nates  S.  for  Governor,  313-317; 
poorly  organized,  325;  not  a  party, 
but  a  crusade,  325;  Roosevelt  on  the 
future  of,  360,  361;  351,  395. 

Progressive  Republicans  seat  a  can 
didate  for  nomination  in  1912,  309, 
310. 

Pulido,  Angel,  366,  368. 

Pullman  Car  Co.,  strike  of  employees 
of,  194. 

Quail,  Egyptian,  79. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  121,  122. 

Radowitz,  Herr  von,  363. 

Rafail  Meir  Panisel,  83. 

Railroads,     complaints     against,     of 


446 


INDEX 


discrimination,  etc.,  investigated  by 
Hepburn  Committee,  35;  and  the 
Interstate  Commerce  law,  186,  187. 

Railway  Labor  Arbitration  Board, 
jurisdiction  of,  199;  membership  of, 
200;  S.  chairman  of,  200;  hearings 
and  decision  of,  in  matter  of  Eastern 
roads  and  their  employees,  200- 
203. 

Ramazan,  month  of,  59,  276,  277. 

Rampolla,  Cardinal,  347,  348,  349. 

Reading,  Rufus  D.  Isaacs,  Earl,  410. 

Reclus,  Elysee,  144. 

Reconstruction,  why  being  halted, 
429,  430. 

Reed,  Mr.,  at  Madrid,  365. 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  128,  304. 

Reis  Effendi,  87. 

Republican  Party  disrupted  in  1910, 
309. 

Republicans  of  New  York  offer  to 
nominate  S.  for  Governor,  319;  why 
they  did  not,  319,  320. 

Revolution  of  1848,  4. 

Reynolds,  James  B.,  393. 

Rhind,  Charles,  87. 

Ribot,  Alexandre,  409. 

Riddle,  John  W.,  133,  134,  172,  173. 

Riega,  Celso  G.  de  la,  on  the  birth 
place  and  ancestry  of  Columbus, 
368,  369. 

Rifaat  Pasha,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  276,  277,  278,  283,  294. 

Robert  College,  S.  presides  at  Com 
mencement  exercises  of,  66,  67;  57, 
76,  77,  297,  299. 

Robinson,  Corinne  (Roosevelt),  247. 

Robinson,  Geoffrey,  374. 

Robinson,  Stewart,  death  of,  247. 

Rockwood,  photographer,  and  Cleve 
land,  117. 

Rodin,  Auguste,  360. 

Rome,  S.'B  visits  to,  158,  159,  344- 
349;  modernization  of,  by  Mayor 
Nathan,  346. 

Roosevelt,  Alice,  quoted,  179;  209. 
And  see  Longworth,  Alice  (Roose 
velt). 

Roosevelt,  Mrs.  Alice  Lee,  179. 

Roosevelt,  Archie,  188,  275,  394. 

Roosevelt,  Mrs.  Edith  Carow,  her 
character,  177;  and  the  Kaiser's 
invitation,  287,  288;  174,  188,  209, 
244,  245,  247,  255,  274,  275,  323, 
387,  395. 


Roosevelt,  Ethel,  188,  275.  And  set 
Derby,  Ethel  (Roosevelt). 

Roosevelt,  George  E.f  323. 

Roosevelt,  Kermit,  S.  attends  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Willard  at  Madrid, 
362;  188,  244,  249,  358,  394. 

Roosevelt,  Philip,  360. 

Roosevelt,  Quentin,  death  of,  245; 
188,  244,  275. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  appoints  S.  to 
Hague  Tribunal,  164,  165,  208;  and 
the  Kishineff  massacre,  171-173; 
and  the  Alaskan  boundary  question, 
173, 174;and  the  Venezuelan  dispute, 
174;  and  the  Panama  revolution, 
174-176;  divers  personal  traits  and 
characteristics,  176,  177,  179,  180, 
181,  192,  193,  208,  215,  256,  289, 
309;  quoted  on  S.,  178;  his  attitude 
toward  Jews,  179,  180;  quoted  on 
discharge  of  Miller,  181;  his  policy 
with  regard  to  labor,  181,  182,  186; 
quoted  on  religious  freedom,  182, 
183,  347;  and  on  Americanism,  183; 
on  the  negro  question,  184,  187;  his 
Annual  Message  of  1904,  185-187; 
favors  eight-hour  law,  186;  on  trusts, 
186;  negotiates  between  Russia  and 
Japan,  188  ff.;  letter  of,  to  Count 
Witte,  on  plight  of  Jews  in  Russia, 
191;  letter  of,  to  S.,  on  Germany's 
attitude  and  purposes,  192;  his 
"kitchen  cabinet,"  207,  208;  his 
miscalled  "impulsiveness,"  208, 256; 
preparedness  his  outstanding  char 
acteristic,  208,  256;  his  public  ad 
dresses,  208,  209;  makes  S.  Secre 
tary  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  210, 
211, 212;  and  Japanese  immigration, 
217  ff.,  221,  225  ff.\  reappoints 
commission  on  naturalization,  232; 
awarded  Nobel  Peace  Prize,  239; 
his  initial  and  final  distribution  of 
the  prize  fund,  240,  241;  his  parting 
gift  to  S.,  247;  favors  Taft  for 
President  in  1908,  248,  and  uses  his 
influence  in  that  sense,  249 ;  declines 
renomination,  249,  250;  proposed 
African  trip,  252,  255;  African  Game 
Trails,  252;  invited  to  lecture  at 
Oxford,  253,  255;  in  Taft  campaign, 
253  ff.;  letter  of,  to  Bryan,  254; 
invited  to  speak  at  the  Sorbonne, 
255,  256;  preparing  his  Oxford 
address,  255,  256;  his  relation  to 


INDEX 


447 


Taft's  success,  256;  his  adminis 
tration  again  a  tew  era  in  history  of 
U.S.,  257;  his  relations  with  his 
cabinets,  257;  on  Taft's  religion, 
257-262;  omits  motto  on  gold  coins, 
262 ;  assures  S.  of  Taft's  purpose  to 
reappoint  him,  263 ;  one  cause  of  his 
break  with  Taft,  263,  264;  his 
speech  at  dinner  to  Sherman,  265- 
267;  at  the  last  Cabinet  meeting, 
267,  268;  at  inauguration  of  Taft, 
268-270;  his  personal  following, 
269 ;  letter  of,  to  S.,  on  his  reappoint- 
ment  to  Turkish  Embassy,  274;  S. 
on  administration  of,  274,  275; 
opposition  in  Congress  to  his  poli 
cies,  276;  at  Cairo  with  S.,  287  ff.; 
on  Taft's  failure  to  reappoint  S. 
and  others  to  Cabinet,  288;  his 
address  in  Cairo,  and  the  murder  of 
Budros  Pasha,  288,  289,  291;  why 
he  was  not  received  by  Pius  X,  289, 
290,  348,  349;  policies  of,  and  Taft's 
administration,  306;  influence  of, 
not  dead  in  1910,  308;  his  attitude 
toward  renomination,  308;  and  the 
"bosses,"  309;  appeal  of  the  gov 
ernors  to,  310;  agrees  to  accept 
nomination  if  demanded  by  people, 
310;  his  speech  at  Columbus,  O., 
310,  311;  did  his  advocacy  of  the 
recall  of  judicial  decisions  defeat 
him?  311,  312;  his  speech  at  Car 
negie  Hall,  312,  313;  nominated  by 
Progressives,  313;  letter  of,  to  8., 
and  interview,  on  S.'s  nomination 
for  Governor,  317-319;  in  the  cam 
paign,  322-324;  his  heroism  when 
shot,  322;  speaks  at  Madison 
Square  Garden,  323,  324;  letter  of, 
to  S.,  325;  believes  in  the  efficacy  of 
strong  armaments  to  ensure  peace, 
336;  sends  a  fleet  round  the  world, 
336-338;  on  the  future  of  the  Pro 
gressive  Party,  360,  361;  on  the 
probability  of  the  U.S.  being  in 
volved  in  the  World  War,  387;  his 
offer  to  raise  a  division,  388;  crit 
icizes  the  President,  388,  389,  but 
is  ready  to  cooperate,  389;  his  last 
illness,  death,  and  funeral,  391-394; 
his  Nobel  Prize  address,  395,  397; 
166,  187,  213,  214,  216,  222,  225, 
230,  231,  234,  235,  237,  241,  245, 
246,  247,  253,  272,  285,  291,  292, 


320,  325,  330,  351,  358,  359,  362, 
390,  397.  His  Autobiography  quoted, 
177,  191,  337. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  Jr.,  188,  394. 

Roosevelt,  William  E.,  360. 

Roosevelt  Pilgrimage,  the,  394,  395. 

Root,  Elihu,  and  Japanese  immigra 
tion,  217,  219,  221;  179,  230,  231, 
236,  237,  258,  265,  335,  336,  329, 
349,  393,  394. 

Rosebery,  Archibald  P.,  Primrose, 
Earl  of,  conversation  with,  149 
150. 

Rosen,  Baron,  189. 

Rothschild,  Alfred,  on  the  TripU 
Entente,  305,  306. 

Rothschild,  Alfred  Charles  de,  Baron, 
52. 

Rotuschild,  Lord,  on  the  Triple  En 
tente,  305. 

Roumania,  and  the  Jews,  80,  81,  303; 
restrictions  on,  and  oppression  ol 
Jews  in,  166,  167;  emigration  of 
Jews  from,  to  U.S.,  167-169;  Hay's 
note  to  the  Powers  concerning,  and 
its  effect,  169;  relations  of  U.S.  with, 
185;  visited  by  S.,  300-304. 

Roumeli-His?ar,  57. 

Round  Table,  The,  374. 

Rowe,  Leo  S.,  334. 

Rush,  Benjamin,  41. 

Russia,  and  Russian  Jews  in  Turkey, 
80,  81;  and  the  Jews,  106-108;  laws 
against  Jews  in,  and  the  Kishineff 
massacre,  170,  171,  172,  173;  rela 
tions  of  U.S.  with,  185;  and  Japan, 
Roosevelt  brings  about  Portsmouth 
Conference  between,  188,  189; 
Count  Witte  and  the  Jews  in,  189, 
190;  attitude  of,  toward  Turkey, 
after  1905,  279,  293;  duty  of,  at  out 
break  of  war,  375,  376,  377;  present 
conditions  in,  411,  417.  And  see 
Great  Powers. 

Russian  emigrants,  and  Baron  de 
Hirsch,  95,  96. 

Russo-Japanese  War,  180. 

Rustem  Pasha,  50,  51. 

Ryan,  Thomas  F.,  264. 

Sabbatal  Zevi,  278. 

Sage,  William  H.,  26. 

Said  Pasha,  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 

faiyj,  58,  85,  86,  99. 
Salant,  Samuel,  83. 


448 


INDEX 


Salisbury,  Robert  Cecil,  Marquis  of, 
123,  148. 

Salmon,  Adolph,  52,  53. 

Salmon,  Mrs.  Adolph,  53. 

Salonica,  visited  by  S.,  285. 

Samuel,  Herbert  L.,  305,  352,  399. 

Samuel,  Mrs.  H.  L.,  305,  352,  399. 

Savannah  Board  of  Trade,  S.  guest 
and  speaker  at  twenty-fifth  anniver 
sary  of.  241,  242. 

Sayce,  Archibald  H.,  289. 

Sazonoff,  M.,  377,  411,  417,  418. 

Schaeffer,  Mr.,  labor  leader,  197. 

Schiff,  Jacob  H.,  96,  106,  168,  189. 

Schurman,  Jacob  G.,  170. 

Schurz,  Carl,  criticizes  appointment  of 
Van  Alen;  113;  4,  44,  56,  97,  122, 
192. 

Schuyler,  Philip,  150. 

Schuyler,  Mrs.  Philip,  150. 

Schwab,  Gustav  H.,  237. 

Scipio  Africanus,  344. 

Scott,  James  B.,  334,  335,  336. 

Seasongood,  Lewis,  106. 

Selamlik,  ceremony  of,  63,  64,  152. 

Seligman,  Isaac,  52. 

Seligman,  Isaac  N.,  189,  345. 

Seligman,  Jesse,  96,  106. 

Seligman,  "William,  55. 

Seligman,  Mrs.  William,  55. 

Seligman  Freres,  55. 

Senate  of  U.S.,  refuses  to  ratify  nat 
uralization  treaty  with  Turkey,  90, 
92;  and  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  426- 
429. 

Serbia,  claims  towns  awarded  to 
Roumania,  414. 

Seward,  George  F.,  178. 

Shakespeare,  General,  120. 

Sharp,  William  G.,  U.S.  Ambassador 
to  France,  411,  412. 

Shaw,  Albert,  121,  172,  173,  200. 

Shaw  of  Dunfermline,  Thomas,  Lord, 
398,  399,  415,  416.  -, 

Sheffield,  James  H.,  209. 

Shepard,  Edward  M.,  170,  331. 

Sherman,  James  S.,  Roosevelt's  speech 
at  dinner  to,  265-267;  251,  269L 

Sherman,  William  T.,  53. 

Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act,  253. 

Sherman  Silver  Coinage  Act,  repeal 
of,  112. 

Short,  Dr.,  427. 

Sicily,  Greek  and  Roman  remains  in, 
343,344. 


Sidon,  tombs  unearthed  at,  151. 

Sieghortner,  August,  restaurant  of,  44, 

Sigel,  Franz,  4. 

Simon,  Sir  John,  3. 

Sinaia,  summer  capital  of  Roumania, 
300  ff.  r. 

Sinzheim,  Joseph,  3. 

Skibo  Castle,  355. 

Slaton,  John  M.,  391. 

Slaton,  Mrs.  John  M.,  391. 

Slavery,  question  of,  12,  13. 

Slaves,  condition  of,  13. 

Slicer,  Thomas  R.,  331. 

Smiley,  Messrs.,  333. 

Smith,  Charles  Emory,  122. 

Smith,  Hope,  241. 

Smuts,  Jan,  sketch  of,  408;  TheLeagut 
of  Nations,  quoted,  409. 

Smyrna,  153. 

Solomon,  Solomon  B.,  33. 

Sonnenthal,  Adolf  von,  133. 

Sorbonne,  the,  Roosevelt  invited  to 
lecture  at,  255,  256;  S.  delivers  ad 
dress  at,  421,  422. 

South,  the,  conditions  in,  in  1850's, 
11  ff.\  in  the  Civil  War,  15  ff. 

South  American  republics,  develop 
ment  of  U.S.  relations  with,  238. 

South  Carolina,  imports  skilled  labor, 
216. 

Southern  Commercial  Congress,  244. 

Southerners,  white,  Roosevelt's  at 
titude  toward,  184. 

Spain,  strained  relations  of  U.S. 
with,  122-124;  U.S.  at  war  with, 
124;  political  conditions  in  (1910), 
361. 

Spanish  American  Peace  Commission, 
128. 

Sperry,  Admiral,  337. 

Speyer,  James,  378,  379. 

Speyer,  Mrs.  James,  378. 

Spooner,  John  C.,  criticizes  Roosevelt'i 
policies,  264;  209,  330. 

Spring-Rice,  Sir  Cecil,  and  proposed 
mediation  of  U.S.,  380,  381,  382, 
390. 

Stahl,  General,  4. 

Steamboat  inspection,  234,  235. 

Stedman,  Edmund  C.,  300. 

Steed,  H.  Wickham,  415. 

Steele-Maitiand,  Sir  Arthur,  399,  415, 

Stefanovich-Schilizzi,  Dmitri,  153. 

Stefanovich-Schilizzi,  Paul,  S.  visit* 
at  Athens,  152-154. 


INDEX 


449 


Stein,  Adolph,  133. 

Sterne,  Simeon,  law  partner  of  S.t  34; 
counsel  for  N.Y.  Chamber  of  Com 
merce  before  Hepburn  Committee, 
35. 

Sterne,  Hudson  &  Straus,  34. 

Sterne,  Straus  «fe  Thompson,  34,  35. 

Stiassny,  Wilhelm,  133. 

Stimson,  Henry  L.t  308,  394. 

Stone,  Melville  E.,  122. 

Stone,  Nahum  I.,  236. 

Stone,  Warren  8.,  239,  240. 

Stratton,  Samuel  W.,  214. 

Straus,  Aline,  S.'B  daughter,  49,  50, 
131,  242,  272,  317. 

Straus,  Hermina,  S.'B  sister,  9,  10,  14. 

Straus,  Isidor,  S.'B  brother,  in  Con 
gress,  112,  115;  2,  9,  10,  11,  14,  15, 
16,  17,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  29,  31,  36, 
43,  48,  96,  117,  118,  131,  154,  155, 
211,  286,  306. 

Straus,  Mrs.  Isidor,  115,  154,  155,  286. 

Straus,  Jacob  I,  S.'B  great-grand 
father,  1,  2,  4,  412. 

Straus,  Jacob  II.,  S.'B  paternal  grand 
father,  1,  2. 

Straus,  Lazarus  I.,  S.'B  uncle. 

Straus,  Lazarus  II.,  S.'B  father,  in  the 
troubles  of  1848,  4;  comes  to  Amer 
ica,  5;  a  peddler  in  Georgia,  5,  6;  set 
tles  in  Talbotton,  Ga.,  and  opens 
shop  there,  6,  7;  joined  by  his  fam 
ily,  9;  a  student  of  the  Bible,  10; 
views  of,  on  slavery,  12,  13;  in  busi 
ness  in  New  York,  after  the  Civil 
War,  20,  21 ;  his  high  sense  of  honor, 
21,  22;  quoted,  144;  his  death,  144; 
1,  2,  15,  16,  18,  24,  29,  36,  43. 

Straus,  Mildred,  S.'B  daughter,  50, 
131,  155,  274,  317. 

Straus,  Nathan,  S.'B  brother,  9,  10, 11, 
18,  21,  29,  43,  111,  112,  118,  131, 
374. 

Straus,  Oscar  S.,  ancestry,  1,  2;  joins 
his  father  at  Talbotton,  Ga.,  8,  9; 
religious  instruction,  10,  11;  at  Col- 
linsworth  Institute,  11;  memories  of 
life  in  the  South,  11  /.,  and  of  the 
Civil  War,  15  ff.t  19;  early  schooling 
in  Columbus,  Ga.,  17,  18;  in  New 
York  City,  21  ff.\  at  Columbia 
Grammar  School,  22,  23;  at  Colum 
bia  College,  25  ff. ;  and  Dr.  McVickar, 
27;  class  poet,  28;  decides  to  study 
law,  29;  in  Columbia  Law  School, 


30,  31;  practicing  law,  32  ff.;  helps 
to  organize  Young  Men's  Hebrew 
Association,  33;  an  original  poem, 
33;  friendship  with  J.  H.  Choate, 
36;  abandons  the  law  to  enter  his 
father's  firm,  36;  marries  Sarah 
Lavanburg,  37;  enters  politics  in 
N.Y.  mayoralty  campaign,  38;  in 
Cleveland-Elaine  campaign,  38,  39; 
address  on  the  "Origin  of  the  Re 
publican  Form  of  Government,"  40, 
41,  120,  published  in  book  form,  and 
translated  into  French,  41,  42,  365; 
suggested  for  appointment  as  Min 
ister  to  Turkey,  and  recommended 
to  President  Cleveland,  42-44;  fav- 
vorable  attitude  of  Protestant  bod 
ies,  and  of  H.  W.  Beecher,  45,  46; 
nominated  by  Cleveland,  46;  im 
pressions  of  the  Clevelands,  48,  49. 
The  journey  to  Turkey:  in  Lon 
don,  50-52;  interview  with  Rustem 
Pasha,  51;  in  Paris,  52-56;  General 
Boulanger,  52-54;  and  Munkacsy, 
55;  in  Vienna,  56;  arrival  in  Con 
stantinople,  57,  58;  many  postpone 
ments  of  audience  with  the  Sultan, 
58,  59;  official  calls  among  the  dip 
lomatic  corps,  60,  61;  life  in  Con 
stantinople,  61  ff.;  Selamlik,  63,  64, 
152;  and  Sir  H.  D.  Wolff,  64;  at 
Therapia,  65;  presides  at  com 
mencement  of  Robert  College,  66, 
67;  his  first  audience  with  the  Sul 
tan,  to  present  credentials,  67-69; 
negotiations  concerning  the  Mission 
schools,  71,  72;  visits  Palestine,  73; 
and  the  agents  of  Bible  societies, 
74;  unofficial  dealings  with  Kiarnil 
Pasha,  77;  in  Egypt,  78,  79;  Khe 
dive  Tewfik,  78,  and  Nubar  Pasha, 
79;  question  of  expulsion  of  foreign 
Jews  from  Jerusalem,  80,  81,  82; 
and  the  tali,  82,  84;  at  Jerusalem, 
82-84;  procures  release  of  Jewish 
immigrants,  83;  memorial  presented 
to,  83;  question  of  limitation  of  so 
journ  of  Jews  in  Jerusalem,  84-86; 
question  of  Turkish  jurisdiction 
over  American  citizens  under  treaty 
of  1830,  87-90;  fails  to  obtain  ratifi 
cation  of  Treaty  of  Naturaliza 
tion  and  Extradition,  91,  92;  and 
Turkey's  claim  against  Baron  d« 
Hirsch,  92-94;  declines  honorarium, 


450 


INDEX 


94;  friendship  with  the  de  Hirsches, 
95;  assists  de  Hirsch  in  organizing 
his  philanthropic  work  in  N.Y.,  96; 
and  the  proposed  Bagdad  railway, 
96,  97;  and  the  proposed  excavations 
in  Babylonia,  97-100;  the  Sultan's 
obligation  to,  100,  101 ;  resigns,  after 
Cleveland's  defeat,  101,  102;  the 
question  of  salary,  102;  farewell  au 
dience,  102,  103;  expressions  of  re 
gret  on  his  leaving  his  post,  103; 
farewell  to  Turkey,  104. 

Reenters  business  in  N.Y.,  105; 
on  committee  of  protest  against 
treatment  of  Jews  in  Russia,  106, 
107;  delegate  to  Democratic  State 
Convention  (1891),  108,  110;  stands 
for  sound -money  plank  in  platform, 
110;  letters  of  Cleveland  to,  1 10, 1 1 1 ; 
relations  with  Cleveland,  110;  on  the 
appointment  of  Van  Alen  to  Italian 
mission,  113,  114;  letter  of  Cleve 
land  to,  113;  entertains  Cleveland, 
114-118;  Roger  Williams,  the  Pioneer 
of  Religious  Liberty,  119,  120,  121, 
347 ;  Development  of  Religious  Liberty 
in  the  United  States,  119,120;  his  in 
terest  in  Roger  Williams,  120;  places 
tablet  to  him  in  Charterhouse 
School,  120,  121;  president  of 
National  Primary  Election  League, 
122;  why  he  voted  for  McKinley 
(1896),  122;  consulted  by  McKinley 
on  Spain  and  Cuba,  123,  127;  the 
suzerainty  plan,  124;  consulted  by 
McKinley  on  affairs  in  Turkey,  124; 
appointed  Minister  to  Turkey  by 
McKinley,  124-126;  the  appoint 
ment  favorably  received,  126,  127; 
and  John  Bassett  Moore,  127,  128; 
disapproves  sending  warships  to 
Turkey,  128;  McKinley's  confidence 
in,  128,  129. 

The  second  mission  to  Turkey, 
130  ff.\  confers  with  Hay  and  others 
in  London,  130,  131;  suggests  need 
of  coordination  and  cooperation 
among  representatives  of  U.S.  in 
Europe,  132  ;and  Baroness  de  Hirsch, 
132,  133;  in  Constantinople,  133; 
his  return  welcomed  by  Government 
officials,  134;  received  by  the  Sultan, 
134,135;  diplomatic  colleagues,  135; 
and  the  visit  of  the  Kaiser,  136  ff.; 
negotiations  concerning  right  of 


American  citizens  to  travel  in  Tur 
key,  139,  140;  and  the  question  of 
naturalization,  140;  and  the  question 
of  indemnities  due  to  missionaries 
141,  142;  and  the  Mohammedans  of 
the  Sulu  Islands,  143  ff.\  and  the 
admission  of  American  flour,  147; 
assists  British  ambassador  in  mat 
ter  of  closing  of  orphanage  schools, 
148;  conversation  with  Lord  Rose- 
bery,  149, 150;  secures  Dr.  Mitchell's 
services  for  Madame  Tewfik,  151; 
visits  Stefanovich  -  Schilizzi,  in 
Athens,  152-154;  at  Therapia,  154; 
on  leave  of  absence,  155  ff. ;  conver 
sation  with  Dr.  Hertzl  on  Zionism, 
156,  157;  visits  Rome,  158,  159;  and 
Queen  Margherita,  158,  159;  reports 
to  Secretary  Hay,  159;  resigns  his 
post,  159-161;  commended  by  Mc 
Kinley,  160,  who  contemplates  of 
fering  him  the  State  portfolio,  160; 
on  the  granting  of  independence  to 
the  Philippines,  161;  on  the  open- 
door  policy  in  China,  161;  com 
mendatory  letter  of  Hay,  162. 

His  address  on  "The  United 
States  Doctrine  of  Citizenship  and 
Expatriation,"  163;  appointed  mem 
ber  of  Hague  Court  of  Arbitration 
by  Roosevelt,  163,  165,  208;  why  he 
was  not  appointed  by  McKinley, 
164;  opposes  sending  punitive  ex 
pedition  against  Mohammedans  in 
Philippines,  165,  166;  prepares  brief 
on  condition  of  Jews  in  Roumania, 
168;  discusses  situation  of  Jews  in 
Russia  with  Roosevelt  and  others, 
172,  173;  advises  against  arbitration 
of  Venezuela  dispute  by  Roosevelt, 
174;  interprets  the  treaty  of  1846 
with  New  Granada,  175,  176;  im 
pressions  of  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  177; 
the  conference  societies  in  Washing 
ton,  and  Roosevelt's  complimentary 
address,  178;  Roosevelt  on  attitude 
of,  on  Jewish  questions,  180;  in  the 
campaign  of  1904,  182;  at  the  con 
ference  on  Roosevelt's  Annual  Mes 
sage  (1904),  184-188;  on  the  eight- 
hour  law,  186;  at  conference  with 
Witte  and  Rosen,  at  Portsmouth, 
on  the  condition  of  Jews  in  Russia, 
189, 190;  conversation  with  Martens, 
190;  impressions  of  Roosevelt's 


INDEX 


451 


political  action,  192,  193;  and  the 
work  of  the  National  Civic  Federa 
tion,  industrial  department,  195^.; 
on  the  method  of  securing  perma 
nent  industrial  peace,  196;  and  the 
Homestead  troubles,  197;  result  of 
his  studies  of  the  relations  between 
labor  and  capital,  etc.,  199;  on 
Board  of  Railway  Labor  Arbitration, 
200-203;  member  of  Wilson's  In 
dustrial  Conference  (1919-20),  203; 
chairman  of  New  York  Public  Serv 
ice  Commission,  205;  services  of, 
in  that  capacity,  in  adjv  sting  labor 
difficulties,  206. 

A  member  of  Roosevelt's  "  kitchen 
cabinet,"  207,  208;  on  Roosevelt's 
"  impulsiveness,"  208,  256,  and  his 
public  addresses,  208,  209;  invited 
by  Roosevelt  to  join  the  Cabinet, 
210;  a  personal  selection,  211;  pre 
pares  to  quit  business,  211,  212;  ap 
pointed  Secretary  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  212;  plans  conduct  of  the 
Department,  213;  his  official  staff, 
213,  214;  social  life  in  Washington, 
214;  his  first  official  dinner-party, 
215;  and  the  importation  of  skilled 
labor  into  South  Carolina,  216;  ac 
tion  of,  on  divers  questions  relating 
to  immigration,  216  ff. ;  and  Japanese 
immigration  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
217;  on  the  naturalization  of  Japa 
nese,  218,  221;  confers  with  Root  on 
revision  of  Executive  regulations, 
219,  226;  and  the  visit  of  General 
Kuroki,  220;  on  anti- Japanese 
agitation  in  California,  220;  visits 
Hawaii,  to  study  the  Japanese 
question,  221-224;  replies  to  Japa 
nese  editors,  223;  confers  with  Vis 
count  Ishii,  224 ;  suggests  negotiation 
of  new  naturalization  treaty  with 
Japan,  226,  227;  gives  out  statistics 
of  Japanese  immigration,  228;  and 
the  head-tax,  230,  231;  and  the 
naturalization  laws,  231,  232;  and 
the  exclusion  and  deportation  of 
criminals  and  anarchists,  233,  234; 
Roosevelt's  comment  on  leanings 
of,  234;  and  the  inspection  of  pas 
senger  steamboats,  234,  235;  orders 
closing  of  rivers  to  salmon  fishing, 
235,  236;  seeks  to  establish  closer 
relations  between  commercial  bodies 


and  the  Government,  236;  organizes 
National  Council  of  Commerce,  237; 
recommends  extension  of  Postal 
Subsidy  Act,  237;  complimentary 
resolution  of  the  Council,  238;  calls 
conference  on  cooperation  between 
his  Department  and  labor  organiza 
tions,  238;  draws  preamble  and  bill 
for  creating  foundation  to  administer 
Roosevelt's  Nobel  Prize,  240;  made 
a  trustee  of  the  foundation,  240;  ad 
dresses  on  divers  subjects,  240;  re 
visits  early  homes  in  the  South,  242, 
243;  his  change  of  politics,  241;  ad 
dresses  Southern  Commercial  Con 
gress  on  the  old  and  the  new  South, 
244;  and  Quentin  Roosevelt,  244; 
gives  last  Cabinet  dinner  to  Roose 
velt,  247 ;  Roosevelt's  parting  official 
gift  to,  247 ;  impressions  of  Taft,  250; 
interview  with  Taft  on  articles  in 
his  brother's  paper,  251;  takes  part 
in  campaign  of  1908,  253,  255;  an 
swers  Olney  on  question  of  prosecu 
tion  of  trusts,  253 ;  on  sectarian  and 
hyphenated  politics,  255;  Roosevelt 
on  Taft's  declared  purpose  to  re 
tain  S.  in  Cabinet,  263,  264;  Taft 
writes  of  his  uncertainty  as  to  re 
taining  him,  267;  at  the  last  Cabinet 
meeting,  267,  268;  at  Taft's  in 
auguration,  268-270. 

Banquet  to,  on  returning  to  New 
York,  271,  272;  Turkish  Embassy 
offered  to,  by  Taft,  with  promise  of 
transfer,  272,  273;  letter  of  Knox 
to,  273;  operated  on,  for  appendi 
citis,  273;  letter  of  Roosevelt  to,  on 
his  appointment,  274;  address  on 
"The  Spirit  of  the  Roosevelt 
Administration,"  274,  275;  purpose 
of  the  address,  275;  in  Paris  with 
Mrs.  Roosevelt,  275;  in  Constan 
tinople,  276;  received  by  Sultan 
Mohammed,  276,  277;  diplomatic 
colleagues,  278,  279;  observes  signs 
of  development  of  Triple  Entente, 
279;  goes  to  Cairo,  to  meet  Roose 
velt,  285;  at  Salonica,  285;  at  Athr 
ens,  286;  received  by  King  George, 
286,  287;  in  Cairo  with  Roosevelt, 
287-292;  consulted  by  Roosevelt 
on  his  remarks  about  the  murder  of 
Budros  Pasha,  288;  entertained  by 
Sir  E.  Gorst,  290,  291;  and  Princest 


452 


INDEX 


Eitel  Friedrich,  292;  relations  with 
Chevket  Pasha,  292,  293;  advises 
sale  of  warship  to  Turkey,  295;  on 
Venizelos,  296;  secures  exemption 
of  certain  institutions  from  the  Law 
of  Associations,  296;  obtains  charter 
for  Syrian  Protestant  College,  etc., 
297;  Knox's  offensive  instructions 
regarding  a  shift  of  activities  from 
educational  to  commercial  ends, 
297,  298;  entertains  Vice-Presi- 
dent  Fairbanks  and  others,  298, 
299;  requests  leave  of  absence, 
intending  to  retire,  300;  at  Sinaia 
in  Rou mania,  300;  conversations 
with  "  Carmen  Sylva,"  300-302, 303, 
304;  discusses  Roumanian  Jewish 
question  with  King  Carol,  302,  303; 
in  Vienna,  304;  entertained  by 
Ambassador  Reid  and  others  in 
London,  304,  305;  interview  with 
the  Rothschilds,  on  the  Triple 
Entente,  305,  306;  resigns,  306; 
purpose  to  transfer  to  another  post 
dropped,  306. 

Speaks  on  "American  Prestige" 
at  dinner  of  N.Y.  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  308;  arouses  enthusiasm 
by  mention  of  Roosevelt,  308;  con- 
milted  by  Roosevelt  on  his  proposed 
speech,  "The  Charter  of  Democ 
racy,"  310;  objects  to  recall  of 
judicial  decisions,  but  not  to  the 
breaking-point,  311;  believes  that 
that  statement  caused  Roosevelt's 
defeat,  311,  312;  made  permanent 
chairman  of  N.Y.  State  Progressive 
Convention,  314;  impressions  of  the 
body  of  delegates,  314;  nominated 
for  Governor  by  "Suspender  Jack," 
314-316;  the  nomination  made 
unanimous,  317;  letter  of  Roosevelt 
to,  on  his  nomination,  317,  318 
Roosevelt's  interview  on  the  same 
topic,  318,  319;  is  offered  the  Re 
publican  nomination,  but  declines 
for  cause,  319,  320;  in  the  campaign 
320-322;  fills  some  of  Roosevelt's 
engagements  after  the  shooting  ai 
Milwaukee,  322;  Roosevelt's  com 
mendatory  speech  at  final  rally 
324;  letter  of  Roosevelt  to,  325;  on 
the  Progressive  organization,  325 
326,  and  the  result,  326;  attempt 
to  improve  arbitration  treaties,  330 


speaks  on  "The  Threatening  Clouds 
of  War,"  at  reception  given  him  by 
the  N.Y.  Peace  Society,  331;  speaks 
on   "World   Peace"   at  dinner   of 
Authors'    Club,     331;     at    peace 
meeting  in  Carnegie  Hall,  332;  on 
the  right  of  expatriation,  denied  by 
European  countries,  332;  addresses 
at  Naval  War  College,  332,   333; 
chairman    of    conference    at    Lake 
Mohonk     (1905),    334;    which    re 
sulted    in    the    formation    of    the 
American  Society  of  International 
Law,  335,  336;  favors  repeal  of  act 
exempting  U.S.  coastwise  shipping 
from  tolls  on  Panama  Canal,  338, 
339;  urges  sending  commission  to 
Mexico,   339,   340;   writes  in    The 
Outlook  on  the  Italo-Turkish  War 
and  the  Hague  Treaty,  341;  motor- 
tour  in  Algeria  and  Tunis,  343;  in 
Sicily,    343;    in    Rome,    344-350; 
received    in    audience    by    Victor 
Emmanuel,    344,    345;    friendship 
with    Mayor    Nathan,    345,    346; 
Professor  Luzzatti,  346,  347;  inter 
views  with  Cardinals  Falconio,  347, 
348,  and  Rampolla,  348,  349;  re 
lations    with    D.    Lubin,    349;    in 
London,   350-354;   entertained   by 
William  Watson,  350,  Sir  Charles 
Henry,  350,  351,  352;  meets  Lloyd 
George,  351;  Sir  Rufus  Isaacs,  352, 
Herbert  L.  Samuel,  352,  and  John 
Burns,  352,  353;  entertained  by  the 
Brittains,  353,  and  Earl  Grey,  353, 
354,    355;    visits    the    Hampstead 
Garden   Suburb,   353,   354;   enter 
tained  by  Mr.  Carnegie  at  Skibo 
Castle,    355;    attends    opening    of 
Peace  Palace  at  The  Hague,  356, 
357;  journeys  to   Madrid  for  the 
marriage  of  Kermit  Roosevelt,  358 
ff.\  meets  Kipling  in  London,  359, 
and  I.  Zangwill,  359;  with  Roosevelt 
in  Paris,  and  travels  to  Madrid  with 
him,  360;  declared  by  Roosevelt  to 
be  the  type  of  man  for  U.S.  Senator, 
360;  on  the  prospects  of  the  mon 
archy   in   Spain,   361;   renews   ac 
quaintance  with  Sir  H.  D.  Wolff, 
366,  and  von  Radowitz,  367;  inter 
view  with  E.  Castelar,   365,  366; 
visits  Toledo,  366-368. 

In  Paris,  in  July,  1914,  370;  the 


INDEX 


453 


difficult  journey  to  London,  370; 
the  demand  for  gold,  371;  assists  in 
relieving  Americans  stranded  in 
London,  371  ff.;  chairman  of  the 
embassy  committee,  372;  at  Clive 
den,  with  the  Astors,  374;  impresses 
on  Sir  E.  Grey  the  necessity  of 
making  clear  Great  Britain's  rea 
sons  for  entering  the  war,  375;  on 
Russia's  duty  to  her  subjects,  375, 
376;  gives  out  an  interview  to  Am 
erican  correspondents,  376,  377; 
with  Bernstorff  at  J.  Speyer's,  378; 
negotiations  with  Bernstorff  on  the 
possible  mediation  of  the  United 
States,  378  Jf.;  reports  to  Bryan 
thereon,  380;  consults  with  Spring- 
Rice  and  Jusserand,  380,  381,  382; 
said  to  have  been  duped  by 
Bernstorff,  382,  384;  defended  by 
Spring-Rice,  382,  383;  Sir  E.  Grey 
to,  383;  negotiations  result  in 
exposure  of  German  insincerity, 
384,  385,  386;  New  Year's  message 
(1915),  387;  conversation  with 
Roosevelt  on  Wilson's  course  and 
duty,  387,  388;  urges  Wilson  to  seek 
cooperation  of  Taft  and  Roosevelt, 
388,  389;  and  the  report  that  Jews 
in  U.S.  were  anti-Ally,  390-391; 
last  meeting  with  Roosevelt,  391- 
393;  at  Roosevelt's  funeral,  394. 

Chairman  of  overseas  committee 
of  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  396; 
confers  with  Taft,  397;  his  asso 
ciates  on  the  committee,  397;  con 
versation  with  Lord  Chancellor 
Birkenhead,  398,  399;  and  Sir  A. 
Steele-Maitland,  399;  interview 
with  Leon  Bourgeois  on  additional 
clauses  to  the  League  Covenant, 
400-403,  404;  commended  for  fa 
vorable  results  of  the  interview,  403, 
404;  attends  sessions  of  Plenary 
Conference,  405-407,  423,  424;  on 
Wilson's  prestige  and  leadership, 
408;  and  General  Smuts,  408;  at 
tends  session  of  French  Senate,  409; 
talk  with  Pershing,  410,  and  with 
Sazonoff,  411;  praised  by  Bourgeois, 
412;  talk  with  Lansing,  412,  413; 
conferences  with  divers  represent 
atives  of  Balkan  countries,  413, 
414,  418,  419;  at  meeting  of  allied 
societies  for  a  League  of  Nations, 


proposes  resolution  regarding  free 
exercise  of  religion,  etc.,  416;  reports 
to  Wilson,  416;  Wilson's  reply  to, 
417;  discusses  with  Bourgeois  re 
vised  draft  of  Article  XXI,  420, 
which  is  adopted,  421;  letter  of 
Wilson  thereon,  421;  address  at  the 
Sorbonne,  on  "America  and  the 
League  of  Nations,"  422;  letter  of 
Wilscn  to,  424;  requested  by  House 
to  return  to  U.S.,  424,  425;  meeta 
Kerensky,  425,  426;  confers  with 
Wilson  on  measures  to  secure  rati 
fication  of  treaty,  427;  conferences 
with  Senators  on  reservations,  427- 
429;  reflections  on  the  failure  of  the 
U.S.  to  act  her  part  in  world-re 
construction,  429,  430. 

Straus,  Percy,  131. 

Straus,  Roger  W.,  S.'s  son,  in  Siberia, 
392,  397;  131,  152,  299,  318,  354, 
378. 

Straus,  Mrs.  Roger  W.,  394. 

Straus,  Salomon,  S.'s  maternal  grand 
father,  1,  2,  9. 

Straus,  Sara,  iS.'s  mother,  2,  9,  10, 
13,  14,  21. 

Straus,  Sarah  (Lavanburg),  deco 
rated  by  Abdul  Hamid,  104;  and 
William  II,  137,  138;  46,  48,  49, 
50,  53,  56,  58,  94,  96,  99,  111, 
115,  131,  136,  211,  214,  215,  242, 
245,  247,  274,  275,  285,  290,  298, 
316,  318,  321,  337,  343,  345,  348, 
353,  354,  360,  362,  365,  374,  378, 
394,  409. 

Straus,  Sissy,  131. 

Straus,  L.,  &  Sona,  S.  becomes 
a  member  of,  36,  37. 

Straus  family,  the,  comes  to  America, 
9;  at  Talbotton,  9-17;  at  Columbus, 
Ga.,  17-20. 

Strauss,  Lewis  L.,  418. 

Strauss,  Paul,  409. 

Striker,  Miss,  294. 

Strong,  William  L.,  121. 

Sublime  Porte.  See  Turkey. 

Sullivan,  Algernon  S.,  40. 

Sultan's  mosque,  the,  63. 

Sulu  Islands,  Mohammedans  of,  sub 
mit  to  U.S.  army,  143-146. 

Sulzburger,  Solomon,  170. 

Sulzer,  William,  320. 

Supreme  Court  of  the  U.S.,  and  the 
trusts,  186,  187. 


454 


INDEX 


"Suspender  Jack,"   See  McGee,  John 

C. 

Sussex,  the,  sinking  of,  389. 
Suttner,   Baroness  Bertha  von,  304. 
Syria,  mission  schools  in,  closed,  71. 
Syrian  Protestant  College,  36,   297, 

299. 

Taft,  Charles  P.,  251. 

Taft,  Hulbert,  251. 

Taft,  William  H.,  favored  by  Roose 
velt  for  President,  248,  249;  nom 
inated,  250;  his  qualifications, 
250;  his  contagious  laugh,  250; 
overshadowed  by  Roosevelt  in  cam 
paign,  254,  255;  elected,  256; 
his  chief  source  of  strength,  256; 
his  religion,  attempt  to  make  it 
an  issue,  257;  Roosevelt's  letter 
to  Dixon  thereon,  258-262;  his 
failure  to  reappoint  S.,  and  others 
to  the  Cabinet,  263,  264,  267, 
288,  292;  his  address  to  Ohio 
Society,  264;  signs  of  departure 
from  Roosevelt's  policies,  264;  sug 
gests  to  S.  embassy  to  Japan,  267; 
his  inauguration,  268-270;  offers 
S.  Turkish  mission,  272,  273;  S.'s 
relations  with,  272;  rumors  of  break 
with  Roosevelt,  275;  growing  rift 
between  his  administration  and 
Roosevelt's  policies,  306;  his  position 
in  1912,  309;  the  Winona  speech 
and  the  Norton  letter,  309;  and  a 
League  of  Nations,  397;  and  the 
Covenant  of  the  League,  413; 
166,  183,  185,  186,  222,  231,  239, 
253,  265,  309,  394,  402,  419,  421. 

Taft,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  270. 

Talaat  Bey,  278,  282. 

Talbotton,  Ga.,  8.' a  father  settles 
in,  6  ff.;  the  Straus  family  at,  9  /.; 
revisited  by  S.,  243. 

Tammany  Hall,  320. 

Tanaka,  Captain,  220. 

Tardieu,  Andr6,  414. 

Tchaikovsky,  Nicolas,  on  sending  food 
into  Russia,  422,  423;  on  Lenin 
and  Trotzky,  423. 

Tcheragan  (Turkish  Chamber  of 
Deputies),  burning  of,  how  re 
garded,  299. 

Tewfik  Pasha  (Mohammed),  Khedive, 
78,  79. 

Tewfik     Pasha,     Turkish     Minister 


of  Foreign  Affairs,  134,  140,  141. 
142;  and  the  closing  of  British 
orphanages,  148;  151,  173. 

Tewfik,  Madame,  attended  by  Dr. 
Mitchell,  151. 

Tezkirahs  (passports),  139,  140. 

Thackeray,  W.  M.,  120. 

Theotocopuli,  Dominico,  367. 

Therapia,  65. 

Thomas,  J.  H.,  415. 

Thompson,  Daniel  G.,  law  partner 
of  S.,  34. 

Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  33. 

Times,  The,  on  S.  as  mediator,  382; 
148. 

Toledo,  Spain's  objects  of  interest 
in,  367,  368. 

Tombs  unearthed  at  Sidon,  151. 

Toombs,  Robert,  19,  20. 

Trade  unions,  organization  of,  194. 

Treaty  of  Paris,  measures  to  secure 
ratification  of,  by  Senate,  46-49; 
reservations  offered,  427,  428. 

Trent,  William  P.,  331. 

Triple  Entente,  development  of, 
279;  305,  306. 

Tripoli,  treaty  of  U.S.  with,  145. 

Trotzky,  M.,  423. 

Trumbull,  Frank,  378. 

Trusts,  question  of,  186,  187. 

Tucker,  Henry  H.  G.,  178. 

Tunis,  343. 

Turkey,  mission  to,  42  ff.;  8.  thrice 
appointed  minister  or  ambassador 
to,  46,  124  ff.,  272,  273;  his  ar 
rival  in,  57-59;  negotiations  about 
mission  schools  in,  70  ff.;  hostility 
to  missionaries  in,  74,  75;  negotia 
tions  concerning  persecution  of 
Jews  in,  83  ff.;  permanent  settle 
ments  with  impossible,  86;  interpre 
tation  of  treaty  of  1830  with,  87  ff. ; 
treaty  of  1862,  88,  89;  slight  regard 
of,  for  terms  of  treaties,  89;  Treaty 
of  Naturalization  and  Extradition, 
90-92,  140,  141;  claim  against 
de  Hirsch,  92-94;  proposal  to  send 
warships  to,  128;  U.S.  mission  to, 
authorized  to  be  raised  to  embassy, 
134,  135,  150;  S.'s  negotiations 
concerning  passport  regulations  in, 
139,  140;  and  the  .  question  of 
indemnities  to  missionaries,  141, 
142;  question  of  shipments  of  flour 
to,  147,  148;  S.  resigns  as  minister, 


INDEX 


455 


161,  162,  his  reception  on  his  third 
appointment,  276,  277;  the  govern 
ment  of  Young  Turks,  277,  278; 
German  influence  in,  279;  promises 
Germany  the  concession  for  building 
railroad  to  Bagdad,  279:  attitude 
of  Russia  toward,  279;  effect  on, 
of  mutual  jealousy  of  the  Great 
Powers,  280;  Chevket  Pasha  on 
conditions  in,  and  attitude  of 
Powers  toward,  293;  and  the  Crete 
affair,  293  ff.:  U.S.  refuses  to  sell 
warship  to,  294,  295;  buys  one  from 
Germany,  295;  Italy's  war  on, 
340,  341;  proposed  mandate  of 
U.S.  over,  410.  And  see  Law  of 
Associations,  Young  Turks. 

Turks,  the,  characteristics  of,  62. 

Turull,  Enrique  de  Arribas  y,  on  the 
ancestry  and  nationality  of  Co 
lumbus,  369. 

Uhler,  George,  234. 

"Union  and  Progress,"  party  of. 
See  Young  Turks. 

United  States,  treaty  of  1830  with 
Turkey,  interpretation  of,  87  ff.\ 
treaty  of  1862  with  Turkey,  88, 
89;  treaty  of  Naturalization  and  Ex 
tradition,  90-92,  140,  141;  attitude 
of,  toward  Sulu  Mohammedans, 
144,  145;  Roosevelt's  administra 
tion  the  beginning  of  a  new  era 
in  history  of,  257;  attitude  of 
toward  international  affairs,  327, 
328;  and  the  Hague  Peace  con 
ferences,  328;  effect  on,  of  sending 
fleet  round  the  world,  337,  338; 
proposed  mediation  of,  at  out 
break  of  World  War,  378  ff. ;  hopes 
of  bringing  about  a  peace  conference 
between  belligerents,  386,  387; 
and  the  mandate  for  Turkey, 
410;  responsibility  of,  for  with 
holding  cooperation  in  world-recon 
struction,  429,  430. 

University  of  Pennsylvania,  confers 
honorary  degree  on  S.,  160. 

Ure,  Sir  Alexander,  351. 

Vacaresco,  Helene,  405. 

Vali,  the,  of  Jerusalem,  82,  83,  84. 

Van  Alen,  James  J.,  and  the  Italian 

mission,  113,  114. 
Van  Dyke,  Henry,  119,  331. 


Van  Hise,  Charles  R.,  200,  201. 

Van  Karnebeek,  Dr.,  357. 

Van  Karnebeek,  Jonkheer,  357. 

Van  Rensselaer,  Henry,  25. 

Van  Swinderen,  Mr.,  357. 

Van  Tetz,  Baron  and  Baroness,  65. 

Van  Valkenburg,  E.  A.,  395. 

Vanderbilt,  William  K.,  97. 

Vanderlip,  Frank  A.,  378. 

Vanderlip,  Mrs.  F.  A.,  378. 

Vandervelde,  M.,  416. 

Varna,  to  Constantinople,  56,  57. 

"Venetian    Palace,"    S.'B    home    in 

Washington,  214. 

Venezuelan  controversy  (1902),   174. 
Venizelos,    Eleutherios,    his    rank    as 

a   statesman,   296;   maltreated   by 

Greeks,   296;    153,  407,   411,   414, 

415,  416. 

Venizelos,  Mme.,  153. 
Vermilye,  Joseph  F.,  26. 
Very,  Rear-Admiral,  224. 
Vesnitch,  M.,  411,  414. 
Victor  Emmanuel  II,  46. 
Victor     Emmanuel     III,     Roosevelt 

received  by,  290;  S.  received  by, 

344,  345,  349. 

Victoria,  Queen,  Jubilee  of,  66. 
Vienna,  S.'B  visits  to,  56,  156,  304. 
Villard,  Henry,  97. 
Vivian,  Henry,  354. 

Wadhams,  William  H.,  400. 

Wadsworth,  James  W.,  209. 

Wald,  Lillian  M.,  393,  425. 

Wallace,  Lew,  43. 

Ward,  John  E.,  31. 

Ward,  William  H.,  97. 

Washburn,     George,      President     of 

Robert     College,     66,     69;     Fifty 

Years  in  Constantinople,  76;  75. 
Washington,  Booker  T.,  entertained 

by  Roosevelt,  184,  187. 
Washington,  George,  41,  183,  258. 
Washington,  Rev.  George,  66. 
Washington  Conference  on  Limitation 

of  Armaments  (1921),  229,  230. 
Watchorn,  Robert,  168,  216. 
Watson,    William,    why    he    missed 

the  laureateship,  350. 
Weardale,  Philip  J.  Stanhope,  Baron, 

377. 

Weber,  John  B.,  107. 
Webster,  Charles  B.t  115. 
Webster,  Daniel,  17,  258. 


456 


INDEX 


Westminster,  Hugh  R.  A.  Grosvenor, 
Duke  of,  148. 

Westminster  Hall,  John  Burns  on, 
353. 

Westminster  Review,  51. 

Wheeler,  Everett  P.,  334. 

White,  Andrew  D.,  Autobiography, 
328  n.,  356;  132,  138,  237,  331,  334. 

White,  Edward  D.,  128,  300. 

White,  Henry,  405,  423. 

White,  Horace,  308. 

White,  Sir  William  A.,  British  am 
bassador  to  Turkey,  60,  65,  72,  74, 
85,  132. 

White,  Lady,  60. 

White  House,  luncheons  at,  in  Roose 
velt's  day,  176,  177;  Christmas 
tree  at,  245;  New  Year's  reception 
at,  245,  246;  official  functions  at, 
246. 

Whitman,  Charles  S.,  205. 

Whitney,  Traverse  H.,  205. 

Whitney,  William  C.,  113,  114. 

Wighe,  Mr.,  labor  leader,  197. 

Wilhelmina,  Queen,  366,  357. 

Willard,  Daniel,  200,  203. 

Willard,  Joseph,  358,  362. 

Willard,  Miss,  marries  Kennit  Roose 
velt,  358,  362. 

Witlcocks,  Sir  William,  299. 

William  II,  German  Emperor,  visit  of, 
to  Constantinople,  136-139;  his  visit 
resented  by  Christians  in  Turkey, 
139;  and  Zionism,  157;  and  Mrs. 
Roosevelt,  287,  288;  247,  279,  291, 
328  n.,  363,  385. 

Williams,  Aneurin,  415. 

Williams,  Roger,  S.  places  memorial 
tablet  to,  in  Charterhouse  School, 
120,  121,  347. 

Wilson,  George  G.,  334. 

Wilson,  James,  240. 

Wilson,  James  H.,  19. 

Wilson,  William  L.,  112,  126,  127. 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  reappoints  S.  on 
Hague  Court,  165,  and  Panama 
Canal  tolls,  338,  339;  his  offer  to 
act  as  mediator  at  outbreak  of  war, 
378,  379,  384,  387;  Roosevelt  on  his 
proper  course,  388,  389;  S.'B  rela 
tions  with,  338;  S.  advises  him  to  in 
vite  cooperation  of  Taft  and  Roose 
velt,  389;  objects  to  proposed  addi 
tions  to  draft  of  League  Covenant, 
400;  opposes  French  demand  for  in 


ternational  army  to  guard  frontier, 
403;  address  to  American  corre* 
spondents,  404;  in  the  Plenary  Con 
ference,  405^07,  423,  424;  early 
adoption  of  Covenant  due  to,  408; 
returns  to  U.S.,  414;  letters  of,  to  -S., 
421,  424;  on  the  treaty  debate  and 
reservations,  427;  203,  322,  402, 
416,  417,  420,  425,  426. 

Wilson,  Judge,  56. 

Wise,  Stephen  S.,  390. 

Witte,  Count  Sergius,  and  the  ques 
tion  of  Jews  in  Russia,  189,  190; 
letter  of  Roosevelt  to,  191. 

Wolf,  Simon,  171,  173. 

Wolfe,  Catherine  L.,  97. 

Wolff,  Sir  Henry  D.,  career  of,  64; 
advises  S.,  65;  in  Madrid,  122; 
reminiscences  of  Disraeli,  363-365; 
86,  362. 

Wolff,  Lady,  362,  363. 

Woodford,  Stewart  L.,  U.S.  Min 
ister  to  Spain,  and  Sir  H.  D.  Wolff, 
122;  seeks  to  avert  war,  124. 

Woodruff,  Timothy  L.,  316,  317. 

Woolsey,  Theodore  S.,  334. 

Wordsworth,  William,  "The  Happy 
Warrior,"  119. 

World  War,  the,  outbreak  of,  371  ff.\ 
Sir  E.  Grey  on  Great  Britain's 
reasons  for  entering,  375,  376; 
proposed  mediation  of  U.S.,  378  /. 

Wright,  Luke  V.,  264. 

Wu  Ting  Fang,  160. 

Yahuda,  A.  S.,  366. 

Yale  College  Kent  Club,  119,  120. 

Yates,  William  F.,  239. 

Yenikeui,  S.'B  residence  at,  154. 

Yildis  Palace,  S.  received  in  audience 

at,  66,  67. 
Young    Men's    Hebrew    Association, 

founded  by  8.  and  others,  33,  40, 

41. 
Young  Turks,    government   of,    277, 

278;    fall    of    their    first    ministry 

due  to  Lynch  affair,  280-282. 
Young  Women's  Hebrew  Association, 

33. 
Yovanovich,  M.,  415. 

Zangwill,  Israel,  his  project  concerning 

the  Jews,  359. 

Zionism,  Hertzl  on,  156,  157. 
Zorn,  Professor,  328  n. 


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